HELSINKI, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Finland is accelerating plans to upgrade its civil emergency alert system after a drone-related warning last week failed to reach the entire population, Finnish authorities said Tuesday.
The Finnish Parliament's Defense Committee met on Tuesday to review the country's civil protection alert system amid growing regional security concerns.
The move came after drones were reported approaching southern Finland last Friday, prompting authorities to issue a general alert advising residents to seek shelter or remain indoors. However, the warning failed to reach all users due to limitations and technical problems in the country's app-based emergency system. The alert failure triggered criticism in Finland, with some commentators warning the country had narrowly avoided a more serious situation.
The Finnish Defense Forces said the country had already increased preparedness levels and was closely monitoring developments after a drone was shot down by NATO forces in Estonia early Tuesday and another was detected in Latvian airspace.
Interior Minister Mari Rantanen said Finland is speeding up the introduction of a cell broadcast alert system that would automatically send warnings to all mobile phones. The system is expected to be operational by the end of the year.
Finland adopted an app-based warning system in 2020 instead of cell broadcast technology due to cost considerations, local media reported. Enditem
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