Germany is drawing up a list of bunkers that could provide emergency shelter for civilians, the interior ministry has said, at a time of rising tensions with Russia.
The list would include underground train stations and car parks as well as state buildings and private properties, a ministry spokesperson said.
A digital directory of bunkers and emergency shelters will be drawn up so people can find them quickly using a planned phone app. People would also be encouraged to create protective shelters in their homes by converting basements and garages, the spokesperson told a press briefing.
He declined to give a timetable, saying it was a big project that would take some time, involving the Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance and other authorities.
The country of 84 million people has 579 bunkers, mostly from the second world war and the cold war era, which can provide shelter for 480,000 people, down from about 2,000 bunkers previously.
The spokesperson said the key points of the plan were agreed at a conference of senior officials in June and a special group was looking into it.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, concerns have been growing about Moscow’s potential to target other Nato members. In October, German intelligence chiefs warned that Russia would probably be capable of launching an attack on the military alliance by 2030.
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German officials say the country is already experiencing a sharp rise in Russian spying and sabotage activities. Last week the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, said the conflict in Ukraine had characteristics of a “global” war and he did not rule out strikes on western countries.
