The case in summary: Since 2003, northern Norway has been without a food emergency stockpile, which makes the country vulnerable in the event of a crisis. Harstad municipality has now entered into a historic agreement with the dry food giant Drytech, which ensures the municipality sufficient food availability. The state currently has food for barely half a percent of the population for three days, far below the recommendations from the Directorate for Community Security and Preparedness (DSB). The security political situation has changed after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has led DSB to believe that Norwegians should be able to manage for a week, not three days as before. Even though Harstad municipality is now establishing an emergency stockpile, emergency response manager Jan Martin Skoglund emphasizes that residents must still follow the recommendations on self-preparedness from DSB. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. Northern Norway is today completely dependent on food deliveries from the south if a crisis arises, because there is no emergency food storage here. This means that the inhabitants of the north will be last in the supply queue when the crisis occurs. Several people have been calling for better food safety here for a long time. This week Harstad municipality in Troms entered into an eight-year historic agreement with the dry food giant Drytech. According to news’s knowledge, this is the first time a municipality in Norway enters into such an agreement. – It is important to be prepared. It is difficult to communicate about preparedness, because you must not take too much or too little Möller’s Tran, you must be just rightly prepared, says Mayor Kari-Anne Opsal (Ap). HISTORICAL: This has perhaps never happened before in Norwegian history. On Tuesday, Drytech’s Trond-Børre Hansen and mayor Kari-Anne Opsal signed the agreement on emergency storage for food. Photo: Henrik Einangshaug / news Vulnerable preparedness in the north The Civil Defense’s head of Midtre Hålogaland civil defense district, Håvard Solhaug describes the preparedness situation as vulnerable. – We know that we are very vulnerable, especially here in the north in connection with the fact that the supply lines can be broken, says Solhaug. Because even if the state has emergency stocks of food, it is far from enough to feed the population for three days, as the Norwegian Directorate for Social Security and Emergency Preparedness (DSB) recommends that the population have their own preparedness. The agreement ensures that the municipality has sufficient food availability to be able to supply its residents. The emergency storage will also give the municipality time when a crisis occurs, considering the time it takes to establish all the necessary systems from a normal situation to an emergency situation. This is according to the emergency manager in the municipality, Jan Martin Skoglund. – The measure we are taking now is to take care of those who cannot, or if a limited emergency need arises, says Skoglund. PREPAREDNESS: Jan Martin Skoglund, preparedness manager in Harstad municipality, says that the food warehouse will give the municipality a different level of resilience in the face of crises. Photo: Henrik Einangshaug / news Your own emergency storage Photo: GAUTE GJØL DAHLE / DSB This is, according to the Directorate for Social Security and Emergency Preparedness, an example of what you can have in your house to get by for three days: 9 liters of water per person Two packs crackers per person One packet of oatmeal per person Three cans of canned dinners or three bags of dry food per person Three cans of cold cuts per person A few bags of dried fruit or nuts, biscuits and chocolate Medicines you depend on Wood, gas or kerosene stove for heating Grill or cooking appliance that runs on gas Candles, flashlight with batteries, kerosene lamp Matches or lighter Warm clothes, blanket and sleeping bag First aid kit Battery-powered DAB radio Batteries, battery bank and mobile charger for the car Wet wipes and disinfectant Drying/toilet paper Some cash Extra fuel and firewood/gas/ kerosene/rubbing alcohol for heating and cooking Iodine tablets for pregnant women, nursing mothers and children under 18 (for use in nuclear incidents) Source: The brochure “You are part of Norway’s preparedness”, distributed by the Directorate for Social Security and Preparedness (DSB). Minimal preparedness And the preparedness warehouse is badly needed. Today, the state has food for barely half a percent of the population for three days. “These stocks correspond to the caloric needs of around 30,000 people for three days if they have no other food available,” the Ministry of Trade and Industry announced last year. In comparison, over 30,000 people live in over 30 Norwegian municipalities. This at the same time that only eight out of ten are clear about the authorities’ recommendations for what should be kept in an emergency stockpile, according to research from the Norwegian Directorate for Social Security and Preparedness (DSB). Far fewer follow the recommendations. Furthermore, the security political situation has changed dramatically after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has led to DSB believing that Norwegians should be able to manage for a week, not three days as before. – The world has become even more dramatic, there is war on our doorstep, and we simply have to sharpen the seriousness of the council, said DSB director Elisabeth Sørbøe Aarsæther recently. SECURITY POLICY: The Norwegian intelligence ship Eger photographed with a Russian ship during the exercise Cold Response in 2022. The security political situation has changed dramatically after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Photo: Defense Mayor Opsal acknowledges that the changed security policy situation has made it far more important to establish a contingency warehouse in the north. – Yes, it has made it more important for the municipality to take responsibility, and it has made it more important for the nation to take responsibility, and there is probably a little difference between us in the north. The closer we get to the Russian border, the better we are at thinking about preparedness. She herself notices that people she talks to further south in the country are not as concerned about this. – We must take our responsibility, we must be prepared for those we are responsible for, and this should also be higher on the national political agenda, just as the Total Preparedness Commission has said. Chief of Midtre Hålogaland civil defense district, Håvard Solhaug. Photo: Henrik Einangshaug Support Håvard Solhaug in the Civil Defense believes it is very important that the municipality now puts in place a contingency warehouse. – We know that we are very vulnerable, especially here in the north in connection with the fact that the supply lines can be broken. The fact that we have a warehouse here is very important. Even if the municipality establishes emergency storage with this agreement, neither residents of Harstad nor elsewhere in the country can “simply” drop the recommendation on self-preparedness from DSB. – We depend on the residents to play in teams, they are an important part of basic preparedness. People who can, must take care of themselves and their loved ones, i.e. neighbors and others, says emergency manager Jan Martin Skoglund, before he continues: – The measure we are taking now is to take care of those who cannot, or that a limited emergency need arises. Hello! Thank you for reading the matter! 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Emergency storage for food ensures better preparedness in the north – news Troms and Finnmark
