Warsaw’s mayor, Rafal Trzaskowski, and Poland’s defence minister, Wladyszlaw Kosiniuk-Kamysz, have announced a 117-million zloty (EUR 27 million) programme to improve the capital’s emergency preparedness, including a better system of shelters.
Warsaw’s plans are part of a wide programme recently announced by the Defence Ministry to expand security cooperation with local authorities. It comes after a survey last year found deficiencies in the number and readiness of emergency shelters.
Unveiling the plans on March 13, Trzaskowski and Kosiniak-Kamysz emphasised that the ongoing Russian war in Ukraine was a particular motivation for reinforcing the capital’s security.
The mayor noted that Warsaw had already gained extensive experience by cooperating with its Ukrainian counterparts.
“Of course, Poland is safe,” he added. “We do not assume any very bad scenario will happen. But we must be prepared for every eventuality.”
“Ukraine would not have survived the first weeks of the war if it had not been for the involvement of the whole of society,” noted Kosiniak-Kamysz. “We all have a responsibility. The local community is extremely important in building civil defence.”
City officials have already carried out an audit of locations that could serve as places of shelter.
“There are quite a lot of these places in Warsaw: seven million square metres,” Trzaskowski explained. “These are mainly underground car parks, the metro and all sorts of underground structures.”
The mayor also said that he “wants there to be an independent water and energy link in every school” and a requirement for all new buildings to have a reinforced shelter.
The programme, known as Warsaw Protects (Warszawa Chroni), will also involve developing storage facilities with equipment that can be used in emergencies such as floods, as well as improved systems for warning residents. There will be an annual education week and safety training for citizens.
Trzaskowski and Kosiniak-Kamusz – who both hailed from Poland’s current ruling coalition – also criticised the former Law and Justice (PiS) government, which was in power from 2015 to 2023, for its lack of actions on this issue.
“Today we don’t even have basic definitions of shelters, we don’t have a legal basis to act, to designate shelters,” said Trzaskowski, while Kosiniak-Kamysz noted that PiS failed to prepare a civil defence act, the creation of which he said would be a priority of the current government.
The unveiling of Warsaw’s new plans comes after the Defence Ministry has announced plans to expand security cooperation at the local government level, including developing a better system of shelters.
In 2022, the PiS government ordered a survey of available shelters. The results, published last year, showed that, in a country of 38 million people, bomb shelters could only accommodate 300,000. However, other secure spaces, such as metro stations and tunnels, could hold up to 50 million people.
The fire service, which carried out the survey, launched an online service that helped people find their nearest place of refuge in an emergency.
However, in an interview with Business Insider Polska, Cezariusz Sonta, a security expert and officer in Poland’s military reserve, said that many of the sites classified as emergency shelters could only protect from extreme weather and not, for example, bombing or shelling.
A recent report by the Supreme Audit Office (NIK), a state body, found that less than 4% of Poles would be able to find refuge in shelters, many of which were in poor technical condition. (Notes from Poland/Business World Magazine)
