Government planning emergency aid points throughout NL for crises

The Cabinet wants to set up emergency aid points throughout the country in the event of a crisis. People would be able to go to these points for “crucial cases like first aid or essential scarce goods,” Minister of Justice and Security David Van Weel said on Wednesday during a debate in the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament, about hybrid threats and social resilience.

Due to the increasing threat of Russia, the Cabinet wants to do a better job of preparing civilians for emergencies like floods, hybrid attacks, cyber-attacks, and, in the most drastic case, war. These types of crisis can lead to power outages, lack of water and internet, and shortage of goods or damage to facilities. Van Weel added that no thought has been given to these types of situations for centuries.

Last month, the Security Council of the 25 safety regions advocated setting up thousands of emergency aid points in the country for crisis situations The council of mayors, who chair the safety regions, first want 1,000 emergency aid points. These would be located in fire stations, for example. The plan would be for 3,600 local emergency aid points to be established later.

Most people in the Netherlands have not yet done anything to prepare for a crisis situation, the minister said. “The geopolitical tensions require significantly more effort.”

This is why Van Weel wants to intensify the public campaign. Door to door flyers will be used for this. The flyer will contain information about resilience during these types of crisis, the minister confirmed.

This comes after it was reported on Thursday that the Dutch military are increasing their efforts for potential rapid deployment. Immediate action to prepare for increased operational demands was demanded by General Onno Eichelsheim, the country's highest-ranking military official.