Riga to hold two-day evacuation drill, open to all volunteers
Riga municipality is organizing a practical evacuation exercise on September 18-19 as part of the national defense drill Namejs 2026, inviting any interested residents to register. Participants will test the full evacuation process from gathering to shelter.
The Riga City Council is calling on residents to sign up for a practical evacuation exercise scheduled for September 18 and 19. The drill forms part of the broader national defense training program Namejs 2026.
During the exercise, organizers plan to test several stages of the evacuation process in practice: gathering residents, transporting them, and receiving them at an evacuation center. The exercise will also assess coordination between the municipality, various emergency services, and other institutions involved in the response.
The municipality has emphasized that participation is open to anyone interested, not limited to specific groups or pre-selected participants. This suggests an intent to involve as broad a segment of the public as possible, allowing for a more realistic test of how the evacuation system would function at scale.
The Namejs 2026 exercises are part of Latvia's ongoing national defense preparedness efforts, aimed at testing and improving the readiness of various institutions to respond to crisis situations. Testing the evacuation scenario in Riga will help evaluate how effectively the current system can ensure the safe movement and temporary housing of residents in emergency conditions.
