The NACEMAP exercise develops tools for communities and authorities to support community preparedness

The participants of the first pilot exercise of the NACEMAP (Northern and Arctic Communities Emergency Management and Preparedness) project represented authorities from the Wellbeing Services County of Lapland, municipalities and other authorities, as well as communities, volunteer organizations, and universities.

- The wildfire scenario used in the exercise is timely and effectively highlights the preparedness needs of communities. We gained valuable insights from this first pilot exercise for our development work, which we will continue together with the communities and authorities, commented Laurea's Project Manager Minna Markkanen.

The importance of information, the flow of information, and communication was emphasized in the discussions. For example, we discussed what information the local communities could provide to the authorities regarding local strengths and risks. Similarly, we heard from the representatives of the rescue services and municipalities about what information would be useful to them. Some of the tools being developed are suitable for communities’ own preparedness planning.

Based on these discussions, we will continue to develop the preparedness tools presented during the exercise, and they will be published later on the project’s website. The development work will continue with the next pilot exercise in Ireland this fall, and we will continue our collaboration with the stakeholders in Lapland.

NACEMAP (Northern and Arctic Communities Emergency Management and Preparedness) helps Northern and Arctic communities to enhance resilience against future disasters, using an inclusive approach. Project is funded py Interreg Northern Periphery and Arctic Programme and partners come from Finland, Iceland and Ireland.

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