As part of Exercise Spring Storm, the Defence Forces and the Rescue Board will practice using warning sirens in the city of Pärnu tomorrow.
The sirens will sound at 11 AM on May 16 at three locations in Pärnu: near the Tammiste Levira’s mast, the Tele2 mast area on Ehitajate Road, and in the courtyard of the Pärnu Internal Security Building on Tammsaare Road. The warning sirens will emit a specific one-minute rising and falling tone, repeated three times with 30-second pauses, and there is no need for residents to respond. An SMS notification will also be sent to local residents, informing them that the siren test is part of the exercise.
“Using warning sirens and practicing coordination with the Rescue Board and the Emergency Response Centre is a crucial element in assessing and preparing civil defence for wartime. It is important to determine how quickly and through which channels the warning information is disseminated,” said Lieutenant Colonel Gert Treu, Head of the Civil-Military Cooperation Section of the Estonian Defence Forces Headquarters.
The practice of warning notifications is heavily based on the experience from Ukraine. It is essential that the necessary systems are ready to protect the people of Estonia against any threat. To conduct this exercise, the Defence Forces, the Rescue Board, and the Emergency Response Centre have collaborated extensively to ensure that warnings are automatic, swift, and that all parties know how to use the necessary notification systems.
According to Martin Lambing, Deputy Director General of the Rescue Board, the Rescue Board is developing a network of sirens as one of the warning channels to quickly inform people of immediate danger. “The goal is to equip 22 settlements with siren posts by the end of this year. This year’s Spring Storm provides the first opportunity to practice the siren activation process during a military exercise. This allows us to gain experience and see if the planned solutions work in practice,” said Martin Lambing.
Spring Storm is the largest annual exercise of the Estonian Defence Forces, during which military operations planning and execution are practiced, as well as enhanced cooperation between Estonian and allied units. The exercise involves active-duty military personnel, conscripts, reservists, members of the Estonian Defence League, and participants from allied nations. In total, nearly 14,000 troops take part of the exercise.
Spring Storm 2024 is part of the NATO exercise series Steadfast Defender 2024, representing a significant component of this extensive NATO exercise. Steadfast Defender 2024 is the largest NATO exercise in decades, with nearly 90,000 participants from all 32 member states participating over a six-month period from January to July 2024. The broader framework for the exercise has been set by confirmed NATO regional defence plans.
