The 12-page guide will be published on government websites and distributed to local authorities through provincial governors. The materials will also be provided during events organized by the Academy of Civil Protection and Civil Defense, as well as national and regional emergency response exercises, RBC Ukraine reported.
Deputy Interior Minister Magdalena Roguska said the document is not intended to replace Poland’s existing Safety Handbook but serves as a supplement to it.
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The Interior Ministry is advising residents to familiarize themselves with emergency warning signals in advance and identify the nearest shelters and safe routes to reach them.
Families are also encouraged to prepare an emergency plan, agree on a meeting point and communication procedures, and assemble an evacuation backpack containing essential supplies and medication.
If an air attack warning is issued and there is enough time to reach a shelter safely, residents are advised to take their emergency backpack and medication and use stairs rather than elevators. If reaching a shelter is not possible quickly, people should remain inside a building with sturdy walls and follow the “two-wall rule,” which recommends putting as much structural protection as possible between themselves and the outside.
The guide also provides instructions for people caught in an explosion while outdoors. They are advised to immediately lie on the ground, preferably in a low-lying area, and protect their heads.
People in vehicles are instructed to leave the vehicle as quickly as possible and move to the nearest safe location. Authorities are also urging residents to follow instructions issued by the Government Security Center and emergency services.
Poland has already begun conducting practical emergency response exercises in regions near its border with Ukraine. Exercises were held last Saturday in the Lublin and Podkarpackie voivodeships, with further drills planned in the Podlaskie and Warmian-Masurian voivodeships.
The preparations come amid heightened security concerns along Poland’s eastern border following Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine. Poland recently evacuated people from the Dorohusk and Zosin border crossings following Russian strikes in Ukraine near the Polish border.
A fire also broke out at a Starlink satellite communications ground station in the Polish village of Wola Krobowska in the Masovian Voivodeship. Polish law enforcement authorities are investigating, with arson among the possible causes.
