The Nuclear Shelters in Prague
With the ongoing Ukraine war, tensions in Europe are on the rise. This is both due to an influx of war related-refugees to Central European cities, and discontent over the related rising cost of energy. As bombs fall on Ukraine, European nations are waking up to the sorry state of their own civil defence. Currently, in Kyiv, emergency workers are preparing 425 shelters for use during a nuclear war. In Prague, leftover Cold War-era bunkers are currently kept in a state of readiness to protect the population from nuclear war. Prague’s nuclear bunkers In 2019, it was estimated that there were 768 permanent shelters in Prague, with a total capacity for about 150,000 people. Municipal authorities are obliged by law to provide shelters, and Prague’s nuclear bunkers take on many forms. Blast and fallout shelters are built into hillsides, found in various tunnels, located in deep sections of the subway, and installed in reinforced basements of buildings. The Czech Fire and Rescue Service (FRS) admitted that “most” of the permanent pressure-resistant shelters are not in a condition for immediate use, and wouldn’t be prepared for such until a state of danger or war is officially declared. Currently, the FRS said, it would be possible to provide...