Frequently asked questions
Crises can arise unexpectedly and impact our daily lives in many ways - be it power or water outages, empty store shelves, or disrupted communication. In these situations, being aware and prepared can make all the difference for you and your loved ones. Here, you’ll find answers to common questions that will guide you to get ready for a crisis, give example of what supplies to keep at home, and how to respond in emergencies.
Preparing for crisis
A resilience center is a public building or space located within a local government unit, where residents can receive information, advice, and assistance during a crisis. You can find more information about the resilience centers from this link.
In a crisis situation, our daily lives can be unexpectedly disrupted – the power supply may fail, the taps may run dry, shops may be closed, and communication could be limited or entirely cut off. In such situations, quick assistance might not always be available, and you may need to manage on your own for a while.
A well-stocked home can help you and your loved ones better cope with a crisis by providing essential resources such as food, water, light, heat, and basic supplies. By preparing in advance, you can remain calm during a crisis, ensure the well-being of your family members, and avoid making decisions driven by panic.
The website you are currently visiting (olevalmis.ee) helps you you to prepare for a crisis. If a crisis threatens life, health, or property, the government will send direct alerts through the emergency notification system called EE-ALARM. This system includes location-based SMS alerts, mobile apps “Ole valmis!” ("Be Prepared") and “Eesti app”, a siren network, text crawlers on ETV and ETV+ TV channels, and on err.ee website as well as notification on ERR news app.
You can verify the information received from emergency notifications and find additional information from:
- Websites: kriis.ee, olevalmis.ee
- State helpline 1247 (+372 600 1247 when calling from abroad.)
- Various channels of ERR
- Social media channels of government agencies
The quickest way to receive alerts is through the EE-ALARM system, as well as the websites kriis.ee and olevalmis.ee and the state helpline 1247. Information from the media and social media may take a little longer to reach you, depending on how quickly agencies respond and share information.
Make sure you have a battery-operated or dynamo radio and fully charged power banks at home to access information in crisis. Both ERR and Levira, the broadcasting network's service provider, play essential roles in ensuring the continuity of crucial services and the dissemination of information during times of crisis.
Hazard alert EE-ALARM
The purpose of hazard alerts is to protect and save lives. The faster we can deliver instructions for behaviour during events that endanger life and health, the better people can protect themselves and their loved ones. Such alerts may be needed during major accidents, extreme weather events or, for example, in situations of military conflict.
The hazard-alert system is designed to ensure that people are notified as quickly and broadly as possible, including situations where certain communication services may be disrupted or completely down.
Depending on the type of incident and the situation, different channels have different levels of effectiveness. Hazard-alert needs also differ – whether the goal is to provide an immediate initial alarm or deliver detailed protective instructions. There is no single universal channel that can reach everyone.
No, location-based hazard-alert SMS messages are automatically sent to people who are physically present in the area to which the alert is issued.
In situations that may endanger people’s lives and health or threaten national security, the authority managing the emergency (e.g., the Police, Estonian Rescue Services Agency, Health Board, etc.) can send a hazard-alert SMS to people in the affected area. The sender will appear as EE-ALARM.
If a person does not have an Estonian phone number, the message will arrive from +372 5950 0000.
Sending hazard alerts in the major languages used in Estonia is essential for several reasons.
- The right to life does not depend on language proficiency. Everyone has the right to understand a hazard alert in order to protect their life, health, loved ones, and property. Therefore, in addition to Estonian, hazard alerts are also sent in the two most widely understood foreign languages in Estonia.
- When receiving an urgent hazard alert, one must act at once – there may be only a few minutes to protect oneself and loved ones. No child or elderly person should suffer because the responsible adult cannot quickly understand the instructions.
- Experience shows that if information is not in a language the recipient understands, this significantly increases the calls to the state information line 1247 and the emergency number 112, because people require translation of the message. This, in turn, affects the workload of response agencies and slows down the delivery of aid.
Location-based hazard-alert SMS messages are sent to people in their preferred language. To ensure that critical information reaches you quickly and is easy to understand during a crisis, you should check your language preference with your mobile operator.
Previously, location-based SMS alerts were often sent in three languages at once, which made the messages longer and slowed down delivery.
Notifications delivered via apps depend on the language selected in each app.
There are currently 22 cities and areas covered with sirens. The locations have been chosen based on different criteria, for example the population density. Even if some sirens are visible in the public space, we do not publicise all of their locations together as sirens are for the protection of the state and public.
The siren signal is a one-minute rising and falling tone, repeated at least three times with a 30-second pause between each cycle. In total, during a hazard-alert test, the audible siren signal lasts for four minutes.
You can listen to the siren sound on the website at olevalmis.ee.
The sound of a single siren post can be heard 1.5–2 kilometres away in the installation direction sector of the sirens. It depends on the buildings, general noise levels, and also, for example, the weather. For this reason, sirens must be tested regularly and sound levels need to be measured under real conditions.
Yes, to receive hazard alerts via mobile apps, the Eesti app and the ‘Ole valmis!’ mobile app must be downloaded from the App Store or Google Play.
• The Eesti app is available for Android devices in Google Play and for Apple devices in the App Store.
• The ‘Ole valmis!’ app is available for Android devices in Google Play and for Apple devices in the App Store.
Users of these apps can choose whether they want to receive alerts from across Estonia or only from their home area. This gives people the opportunity to adjust the scope of notifications according to their preferences.
Mobile apps also allow you to receive alerts when you are in another region or even another country. We recommend checking the app permissions and notification settings on your phone to ensure alerts are displayed as quickly as possible.
In general, hazard-alert notifications sent via mobile apps arrive within seconds.
When people’s lives, health or national security are at risk, the state alerts those in danger as quickly as possible. The state always does this through multiple channels. Estonia uses a comprehensive hazard-alert system called EE-ALARM, which includes location-based SMS alerts, the ‘Ole valmis!’ mobile app and the Eesti app, the national siren network, ticker messages on the ETV and ETV+ TV channels, and alerts in the ERR News mobile app and on the ERR.ee portal. The choice of channels the state uses to send a hazard alert depends on the severity and scale of the situation. In some cases, only people located in a specific hazard area need to be alerted; in others, the alert must be nationwide.
Hazard-alert channels are designed to overlap both in function and in technology, so information can reach as many people as possible through different channels at critical moments. Estonia uses a comprehensive hazard-alert system called EE-ALARM, which includes location-based SMS alerts, the ‘Ole valmis!’ mobile app and the Eesti app, the national siren network, ticker messages on the ETV and ETV+ TV channels and the ERR.ee portal, and alerts in the ERR News mobile app. The goal is to continue expanding and improving these channels.
If you hear sirens or receive an EE-ALARM hazard alert instructing you to take shelter, go immediately to the nearest indoor space. Close doors, windows, and ventilation openings and only then look for additional information. Seek further information only once you are in a safer place, from: the website at www.kriis.ee or the state information line 1247, ERR, and Vikerraadio and the social-media channels of government authorities. If taking shelter is required, the state will communicate this through all hazard-alert and media channels.
The pocket siren, also known as 5G Broadcast, is a completely new technology that uses a 5G broadcast network to deliver alerts, which is different from a standard 5G mobile network. Currently, this solution does not exist anywhere else in the world. Using this technology, hazard alerts could also include audio, images, and video.
The Ministry of the Interior, together with partners, is currently piloting this technology, with testing continuing until 2027. After that, the state will decide whether and how to implement it. A realistic timeline for the widespread use of this technology is 5–10 years.
At present, most smartphones are not capable of receiving 5G Broadcast alerts, so this does not affect ordinary users. However, if someone happens to have a rare (often imported) phone that supports frequencies not used in Estonia, it may be possible for some ordinary users to receive a test hazard alert during the pilot phase.
In addition to the pocket siren, Estonia is also piloting another hazard-alert technology in cooperation with the European Space Agency, which uses the Galileo satellite system. This solution allows alerts to be delivered in a very different way. In this system, hazard-alert texts must already be pre-stored on the phone (for example, by the phone manufacturer), because the satellite itself does not transmit the text but only the code corresponding to the required message. When the phone receives the satellite signal, it displays the corresponding text combination to the user. This requires devices that support the technology to reach the market. However, this system would allow the delivery of major hazard alerts even if all terrestrial communication networks are down.
Alarm system testing
Testing the public warning system is essential to ensure it works properly before being used in a real crisis situation. The purpose of testing is to verify whether alerts reach people as intended through different channels. It also helps identify technical issues that could hinder the delivery of alerts via various channels. In addition, testing allows us to assess the system’s reliability under conditions of high load or disruptions. It improves cooperation between different parties, such as government agencies and service providers, and raises public awareness about the nature and use of public warnings.
No. During the December test, we will focus primarily on mapping the development needs of the siren network. We will determine whether the network needs to be made denser or whether we can proceed with expansion. For this, we will measure the sirens’ audibility zones using sound pressure devices. People, institutions, and businesses do not need to make any special preparations for the activation of the public warning.
Owners of buildings and sites with siren poles have already been notified in advance. Sirens are installed in locations that are not accessible to the general public. We have sent instructions on how to report if maintenance or construction work is planned near the sirens. Daily life can continue as usual.
Yes. Educational institutions must inform their students, staff, and, in the case of children, their parents about the public warning test. Teachers can discuss public warnings in more detail with children and young people: https://www.olevalmis.ee/en/public-warning-system-known-as-ee-alarm. The head of the educational institution is responsible for organising the notification.
The state will announce the public warning test through public media channels and via SMS. Additional information is available at olevalmis.ee, kriis.ee, and by calling the national help line on 1247. Educational institutions will share preliminary information about the warning to parents through various school information platforms.
Sheltering
Most public shelters are closed on a day-to-day basis and will only opened when the military threat increases. Check the map of public shelters for more information!
Communication outage
- Make the SIM card in your phone inactive. Simply remove the SIM card from a button-operated phone, then call 112. On a smartphone, restart the device, do not enter the SIM PIN, and then call 112.
- After the emergency call, reactivate the SIM card. Only once the SIM card is active can the emergency operator call you back, if needed, provided there is network coverage.
- Move outdoors and find a higher location with fewer physical obstacles that could block the mobile signal.
- Use a battery-operated radio or car radio to find a working radio station and receive information about the incident.
- Seek information from your community (including local government) through people or channels that usually provide reliable updates. If necessary, go to a resilience centre.