It is worth having a home emergency kit for payments and remembering to stay calm during disruptions – new preparedness guide published

The Suomi.fi Preparing for incidents and crises guide deals with situations that would have a broad impact on society and communities.

Situations that require preparation include long power cuts, water outages and interruptions in telecommunications, extreme weather phenomena and major accidents, and longer-term crises, such as a pandemic or military conflict. In addition to instructions, the guide also contains information on hybrid and information influence activities, the maintenance of personal functional capacity and coping during crises and helping others.

Various disruptions may also affect payment and the availability of banking services, which are key to a smooth everyday life. Recent disruptions in banking services are a good reminder that the risk of banking services paralysis should also be taken seriously, and we should prepare more carefully.

“Effective preparedness for disruptions requires cooperation. Everyone can improve their own resilience and, at the same time, the resilience of society as a whole by having a home emergency kit for payments and by keeping calm in the case of disruptions”, reminds Jaakko Weuro, the Director General of the Financial Stability Authority.

You can only prepare in advance

Preparedness means preparing for various incidents and crises and emergency conditions in advance. As a result, the Suomi.fi preparedness guide is also intended for familiarisation in situations with no ongoing incidents in society.

If something extraordinary happens, everyone’s preparedness and actions affect how well people will be able to cope and help others close to them. When people can manage independently for a few days, the authorities can focus on their task of resolving the situation and helping those in most need.

Everyone has different starting points for preparedness, which is why preparedness should be seen as a set of various means. The basis of preparedness is home emergency supplies, but it also involves knowledge and skills to act when something extraordinary happens. Everyone should be prepared in some way according to their needs, opportunities and abilities.

Compiling instructions makes the information easier to find

Preparedness is a matter that concerns society as a whole and involves the work inputs of several authorities and organisations. Compiling instructions in a single guide makes it easier for citizens to find information. When the guide is published, the content of the instructions does not change significantly.

The Finnish, Swedish and English versions of the online guide are accompanied by the signs for the main parts of Finnish and Finland-Swedish sign language. The guide is accompanied by a PDF summary compiling basic information on preparedness in 15 different languages, which users can print out for themselves, their loved ones or service points.

Further information

Read the Preparing for incidents and crises guide at Suomi.fi: Suomi.fi/preparedness 

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The guide is part of the communications package on individual emergency planning launched by the Ministry of the Interior in 2022, which strengthens the preparedness competence of the population. One of the objectives of the current government programme is to strengthen the psychological crisis resilience and competence in independent preparedness of all population groups. The Ministry of the Interior funded the implementation of the guide and was responsible for producing the content. The project involves the Digital and Population Data Services Agency, which maintains the Suomi.fi online service.

The following parties were involved in producing the guide: Digital and Population Data Services Agency, Financial Supervisory Authority, National Emergency Supply Agency, Finnish Meteorological Institute, Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom, MIELI Mental Health Finland, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Martha Association, Rescue Services, Poliisi, Ministry of Defence, Finnish Defence Forces, Financial Stability Authority, Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, Finnish Security and Intelligence Service, Bank of Finland, Finnish National Rescue Association, Finnish Red Cross, Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Secretariat of the Security Committee, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Prime Minister’s Office, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of the Environment.