Most new schools weren’t built with them: “It’s been a long time since the authorities demanded that we should have them,” Lars Erik Holth of Baerum’s public property division told newspaper Aftenposten. In the Oslo suburb of Bærum, for example, only 25 of 43 elementary schools have their own shelters. Not a single new bomb shelter for the public has been built in Norway for more than 20 years. Norwegian Broadcating (NRK) reported how state authorities, believing the Cold War was over, decided in 1998 to remove long-standing demands that all public buildings be built with new bomb shelters. Norway’s state directorate for security and preparedness (DSB) confirms that all the shelters combined can only accommodate 2.5 million people, less than half Norway’s current population. The biggest challenge, however, is capacity. State regulations still demand, though, that bomb shelters (called tilfluktsrom in Norwegian) be ready for service within 72 hours, prompting lots of cleaning and quick refurbishment around the country right now. Most lack water and working sanitation facilities. Many have been used as storage rooms, and are packed with old furniture and other cast-offs. The entrance to this old bomb shelter in Oslo’s Fagerborg district was so tagged so heavily that it was hard to even find the sign depicting it as a place to go in an emergency. They’re thinking about it now, after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and finding that their existing shelters’ capacity and condition leave much to be desired. It’s been decades since Norwegians and their political leaders thought much about the need for bomb shelters.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |