Orange alert over airspace threat briefly issued in Bauska, Aizkraukle and Ogre municipalities
On Sunday, 18 October, residents of the Bauska, Aizkraukle and Ogre municipalities received a cell broadcast alert on their mobile phones about a threat in Latvian airspace. The National Armed Forces reported at 8:15 that the threat was over.
On Sunday, 18 October, at 7:36 a.m., residents of the Bauska, Aizkraukle and Ogre municipalities in Latvia received a cell broadcast message (an alert delivered simultaneously to all phones in a given area) about a threat in Latvian airspace. An orange-level warning was issued, and people were urged to go indoors immediately. At 8:15 a.m., the National Armed Forces (NBS) announced that the threat had ended.
What residents were told to do
The alert instructed people to find a safe place indoors and follow the two-wall principle: stay inside a building, in a spot separated from the outside by at least two walls.
Residents were also asked to follow official announcements. If a low-flying or suspicious object is spotted, people should not approach it and must report it immediately by calling the single emergency number, 112.
Cancellation of the warning
The regional newspaper Staburags contacted an NBS representative and was told that, while the warning was in force, all the safety instructions in the received message applied. The NBS also confirmed that once the threat ended, residents would receive a separate notice cancelling the warning, distributed in the same way as the original alert.
After the threat ended, residents were informed through a repeated cell broadcast message on their mobile phones.
