Analysis: Local govts in Estonia more prepared for crisis than ever before

TALLINN - Estonian cities and municipalities are more prepared for crises than ever before, and 10 municipalities achieved the maximum result in crisis preparedness, it appears from an analysis of the service levels of cities and municipalities in 2024.

"Preparing for crises is very important for local governments, and great efforts have been made in recent years to achieve this. The results speak for themselves -- while the crisis preparedness level indicator remained at the same level for years, now there has been a big leap in a year," Toomas Kääparin, head of the civil protection service of the Rescue Board, said.

Altogether 50 local governments meet the crisis preparedness criteria in an exemplary manner. This is 18 more than last year. Ten local governments have also reached the maximum level of crisis preparedness: Elva, Harku, Hiiumaa, Häädemeeste, Rakvere and Viljandi rural municipalities and the cities of Pärnu, Rakvere, Sillamäe and Tartu.

"Although the situation has improved a lot in the big picture, there are still those who need to make more efforts. Important amendments to the Emergency Act came into force at the end of last year, which add additional tasks and challenges for local governments, but we are confident that we will cope with all of this and that crisis preparedness will improve even more," Kääparin said.

There is still room for improvement in the organization of psychosocial support and monitoring of the vital service provider continuity exercise.

"We hope that in the elections coming this fall, contribution to internal security will continue to be considered an important priority," he added.

The Rescue Board supports municipalities in developing crisis capacity. For example, this spring, the Rescue Board organized the crisis exercise "Kevadmurd 2025," in which almost all Estonian municipalities participated. During the exercise, the work of crisis teams, the launch of resilience centers, generators, equipment and much more were tested. In addition, the state has supported the purchase and installation of equipment necessary in a crisis, the hiring of crisis specialists, and organized various training series.

In June, the results of the 2024 service levels of cities and municipalities were published on the Minuomavalitsus.ee website, which reflect the quality of local services in different parts of Estonia. The results can be viewed in more detail on the minuomavalitsus.ee portal.