A system full of holes. Oslo calls for “total defense” and Norwegians lack shelters

Shelters in Norway can accommodate less than half of the population, and there is a complete lack of them in the new districts of Oslo, warn the Norwegian daily “Aftenposten” and the Finnish “Iltalehti”, describing on Friday gaps in the Norwegian civil defense system.

Journalists pointed out that since the late 1990s, no new shelters have been built in Norway, and access to existing ones is limited, and residents are far from them. Another problem is the lack of complete records of facilities – publicly available maps do not include private shelters located, among others, in schools or office buildings.

Simultaneously the government in Oslo has repeatedly emphasized the importance of the so-called total defensewhich in 2026 became one of the state's priorities. The concept assumes the involvement not only of the armed forces, but also of the administration, companies and citizens in preparations in the event of a crisis or war. The key goal is to achieve society's resilience to crises thanks to infrastructure.

Both newspapers pointed to clear gaps at the local level. There is not a single public shelter in the new Bjoervika district in central Oslo. Ultimately, over 5,000 are to be built there. apartments, and work over 25 thousand. people, but the nearest shelter is over a kilometer away and cannot accommodate more than 300 people. In other parts of the Norwegian capital, residents are up to 4 km away from the nearest shelter.

The newspapers compared the Finnish standard with Norway, where shelters cover almost 90 percent. population, and their construction is obligatory in new buildings with a certain area. These facilities are kept ready and regularly inspected, and in peacetime they often serve additional functions, e.g. parking lots, warehouses, or even go-kart tracks.

Mieszko Czarnecki (PAP)

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