Finland’s emergency preparedness guide will be distributed to households and businesses across mainland Finland in January, with around 3.5 million printed copies planned to help people prepare for power cuts, internet disruptions and other emergencies.
The Finnish Ministry of the Interior says the guide will bring together essential advice on how to respond to disruptions and crisis situations, including the growing concern over threats posed by drones. By providing the information in print, authorities want to ensure people can access practical instructions even when electricity or internet connections are unavailable.
“It is not enough for guidance on preparing for disruptions and crises to be available to the public only through the Suomi.fi online service,” says Ira Pasi, a project manager at the Ministry of the Interior.
The ministry has previously pointed to the advantages of digital guidance, which is cheaper to produce and easier to update. However, Pasi says relying on online information alone may not be enough to reach the people who need preparedness advice most.
“Reading the online version is particularly easy for the groups that are least prepared. Those who are least prepared are young adults and urban residents,” Pasi says.
Plans for a printed guide gained wider attention in May, when Prime Minister Petteri Orpo of the National Coalition Party said preparations were under way to distribute a booklet to households. Finland’s Parliamentary Ombudsman has also raised concerns about the existing approach to communicating preparedness advice, adding to calls for more accessible information.
The printed publication is intended to be a concise, practical guide rather than a lengthy handbook. It will summarise key recommendations from public authorities and other organisations, drawing on existing resources such as the Suomi.fi preparedness guide, the 72 Hours preparedness website and the Finnish rescue services’ guidance on preparing for drone threats.
According to Pasi, the aim is to produce something people can read in one sitting and refer to when necessary, rather than a long document that requires extensive reading or memorisation.
“The aim is for everyone to be able to read it from cover to cover. It will not be a guide running dozens of pages that people would have to memorise,” Pasi added.
The recommendations will serve as guidance, not mandatory requirements. People will be encouraged to apply the advice according to their own circumstances and available resources, recognising that households have different needs and capacities.
Producing and distributing the guide is expected to cost approximately two million euros. Alongside Finnish and Swedish, versions will also be prepared in Sámi, extending access to the information to Sámi-speaking communities.
The January distribution will give households a physical reference for emergency preparedness, complementing the digital information already available through Finnish authorities and preparedness organisations.
