A thick granite wall designed to withstand multiple blasts separates the two heavy metal doors at the entrance to Merihaka shelter in central Helsinki.
In an emergency, after passing through this double entryway, local residents arrive in a sealed decontamination chamber where there are taps and showers to wash toxic materials from clothing, before passing through into the main bunker cut deep into the bedrock 25 metres below Finland’s capital.
Merihaka is just one of many in Helsinki’s vast network of underground shelters – with winding tunnels and expansive chambers – designed to withstand a nuclear attack, as well as heavy shelling, and capable of holding hundreds of thousands of people.
“We are prepared,” Nina Järvenkylä from the Helsinki Rescue Department tells The Independent as she gestures to the neatly stacked bunk beds and line of dry toilets. “If there’s a war, we know what to do.”
In the event of an attack, the bunker can hold up to 2,000 people – although at full capacity it would be cramped with bunks three beds high – and can be fully sealed thanks to its ventilation system.
The halls can be divided by curtains to create separate spaces for children, privacy for the elderly, or to administer first aid.
Given the proximity to Russia (the countries share a 1,343km long border from Lapland in the north to Karelia in the south) and a turbulent history, Finland’s preparedness for conflict is perhaps unsurprising.
“We have had 80 years to prepare,” adds Järvenkylä. A shelter system has been in place in Helsinki since World War Two, during which time Finland lost the eastern province of Karelia to Russia, and the city has been continually strengthening the system since.
The occupation of Crimea in 2014 and Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 highlighted the possibility of traditional warfare, shaping the Finnish government’s shift to a strategy of comprehensive security, with a capacity to protect all members of the population in the event of military threat.
Common with a number of shelters across Helsinki, the Merihaka bunker has a double use, with a number of the halls occupied by sports facilities, a cafe and a children’s play area.
The space is rented out by the city on agreement that it can be cleared within 72 hours in the event of an emergency.
The process is clear: a city-wide siren will sound (this is tested on the first Monday of every month) and an app alert will be sent out – in which case all Helsinki residents are advised to gather a backpack of food, medicine, toys for children, and any personal belongings, and head to their nearest shelter.
There is a designated shelter space for every person in Helsinki – with a population of around 700,000, the city has shelter space for close to 950,000 – that should be able to be reached in one to ten minutes.
There are around 5,500 civil defence shelters in the city and some 50,500 across Finland accommodating a total of 4.8 million people, which equates to about 85 per cent of the population.
