New analysis translates the national risk picture into the municipalities' everyday lives

The national risk picture places high demands on the municipalities' emergency planning. A new analysis from KL translates the national risk picture into five specific points of attention for the municipalities. There is still a need for clear messages about risk scenarios and time horizons, says KL.

In the spring, the national risk picture provided an overall overview of the heightened threats we as a country must be ready to deal with over the next five years, with a focus on security policy threats, climate change, energy shortages and cyber attacks.

Such a serious risk picture places high demands on the municipalities, which are very much at the forefront when it comes to creating security and protecting citizens during long-term crises. Therefore, there is a need to translate the threats into the municipal context and the everyday lives of citizens.

Rasmus Dahlberg, PhD, researcher in societal security and emergency preparedness, and Niels Klingenberg Vistisen, MA, war historian and intelligence analyst, have therefore, with contributions from selected municipalities and emergency preparedness, translated the national risk picture into five specific points of attention and at the same time provide inspiration for how the municipalities can strengthen their emergency planning.

"With the analysis, we get one step closer to what the changed threat landscape means for the local reality. And we hope that it can help the municipalities in their further work to strengthen the emergency preparedness – for the benefit of citizens' safety and for the overall robustness of society," says KL's chairman Martin Damm.

The KL analysis "Strengthen the municipality's preparedness" comes up with proposals for initiatives that the municipalities can advantageously dive into in five areas:

• Prioritize cybersecurity
• Plan for power outages
• Strengthen security of supply
• Increase crisis management capacity
• Connect with business and civil society

Still unresolved questions

According to the KL chairman, however, the analysis only covers some of the need for clarification in the municipalities.

"The analysis is as far as we can get based on the knowledge we have received from the authorities. But there are still some things we need answers to. For example, should we have a contingency plan for three days, a week or longer to take care of our elderly and vulnerable citizens if, for example, the electricity grid or the water supply is put out of operation? And should we prepare for scenarios that affect the whole country or more local breakdowns?" says Martin Damm and continues:

"These are questions that are important for us to ensure the right preparedness that can help citizens if the crisis should hit. Therefore, we also hope that the government will provide us with the answers shortly, so that we, in close cooperation with authorities, civil society and the business community, can coordinate and ensure that our society is robust to withstand threats and attacks."

See the analysis here: Strengthen the municipality's preparedness