Amid heightened regional tensions following the conflict in the Middle East, several European nations, including Bulgaria, have begun reviewing the status of their civil defense infrastructure. The University Rescue Squad (URS), part of the Bulgarian Youth Red Cross, recently released a comprehensive map detailing civil defense and fallout shelters across the country to increase public awareness. According to fire service data, Bulgaria possesses 247 designated civil defense and fallout shelters.
However, the report indicates that only 18 are currently ready for immediate use as designed. Officials note that the remaining facilities can be rendered functional within a week. Maintenance protocols require an assigned official for each site, and the fire service conducts mandatory inspections twice annually.
In the capital, Sofia, City Hall reports that ten of the city’s 92 shelters have undergone overhauls in the last two years, with renovation commencing on six more. The remaining shelters are scheduled for repair within the next four years. Many of these vital shelters are integrated into public buildings such as schools and kindergartens.
URS volunteer Radinel Pargov noted that while the official registry is maintained by the fire service, private shelters also exist, though they fall outside the formal inventory. Pargov also pointed out that certain populated areas within Bulgaria lack dedicated civil defense shelters. Nevertheless, the country has substantial alternative capacities, including the underground Metro system, which can accommodate over 900,000 people, alongside large venues like the National Palace of Culture and underground tunnels, offering potential refuge from a bomb threat.
Topics: #bomb #shelters #bulgaria
