On 24 August, President Edgars Rinkēvičs visited the “Jāņciems” dispatch and data centre of “Augstsprieguma tīkls”, the dispatch centre of “Sadales tīkls”, and the Operational Management Division and Unified Contact centre of the State Fire and Rescue Service of Latvia.
The President discussed cooperation between the services responsible for dealing with the aftermath of the storm, including the restoration of electricity supply, challenges arising from disruptions to communications, and solutions needed to strengthen the resilience of both residents and businesses in crisis situations.
The President thanked all those involved in dealing with the aftermath of the storm and welcomed the timely warnings issued about the approaching storm.
“All the lessons learned will be compiled and analysed. The key thing is to ensure that, once they have been put down on paper, they do not simply disappear somewhere. That is our problem – the storm is forgotten, and we lose sight of what has been done and what has not. Right now, the main priority is to restore electricity supply and communications.
In my view, we need a change in mindset. There are things that the state and local authorities will be able to do, but it will not be possible to help everyone immediately. That is why each of us must also strengthen our own preparedness for crisis situations,” said President Edgars Rinkēvičs following the meetings.
