Public warning test in June 10 - take three minutes to be crisis‑ready

The public warning test will follow the now familiar format. In the morning, a reminder SMS will be sent about the test taking place between 15:00 and 15:10, during which sirens will be activated in larger settlements, alerts will be sent via the Eesti app and the “Ole valmis!” mobile application, and ticker alerts will be displayed on ERR channels. 

Think through how to be prepared for crises

Every individual, family, institution and company can take a small but important step on the test day to improve their crisis preparedness. Take at least three minutes to think through or discuss with family members, colleagues or employees how to be prepared for unexpected events that could seriously disrupt your everyday life – in other words, crises. 

During the same week as the test, more than 130 state authorities, local governments, companies and civil society organisations will practise crisis response as part of the large‑scale comprehensive national defence and civil protection exercise ILVES 2026. Organisations participating in the ILVES exercise will also practise taking shelter during the public warning system test. 

Preparedness doesn't only mean taking shelter

Crisis preparedness does not mean only taking shelter, but considering the threat posed by hostail drones that have recently entered Estonian airspace, thinking this through is particularly important. However, preparedness also means being able to cope during power, water, heating or communications outages, knowing how to help loved ones, and being ready to leave home quickly if necessary. 

• How would you cope if, for some reason, drinking water is unavailable for an extended period? Three years ago, Kuressaare’s water supply was contaminated, making drinking water unusable for over a week. How would food be prepared, hands washed or toilets used in such a situation? How would water be transported home from elsewhere? 
• Do you have enough food supplies at home to manage for a week if needed? Perhaps everything is already in place – but how would you prepare food if there were no electricity? 
• How would you receive information if mobile communications or the internet were not working? Through a car radio? A battery‑powered radio? 
• Inevitably, being prepared for a crisis also means discussing and planning with family and loved ones how to cope if a major accident, or in the worst case a military threat, were to force you to leave your home.
• It is also useful to discuss how to take shelter if there is a real explosion risk nearby or a shelter-in-place instruction is issued. Importantly, the threat does not have to be military. The need to take shelter can also arise from a major accident, for example due to the risk of an explosion involving dangerous cargo.
• Does your family know how to act if a behavioural instruction is issued via EE‑ALARM? Do children know how to find SMS messages on their phones?
• If a shelter warning is issued, do you know where to go at home or on the way home? Do children know the “two-wall rule”, meaning they know to move away from windows to a place where at least two walls separate them from the outside air?
• Have you downloaded the Eesti app or the “Ole valmis!” mobile application and enabled public warning notifications?

This web page helps you improve your crisis preparedness, as does the “Ole valmis!” mobile application.

Also take a look at the crisis preparedness e-course on crisis preparedness. It provides, among other things, knowledge on first aid, psychological first aid and community crisis preparedness.

Public warning tests are here to stay. The next nationwide public warning test will take place on Wednesday, October 14, coinciding with Civil Protection Month. This provides a good opportunity to discuss crisis preparedness in schools and educational institutions on the day of the test.