The issue of civil defense and preparedness is hot in the municipalities around the county – if the war comes, the country’s municipalities must be able to continue to be led
Johan Harter is deputy director of preparedness at the county administration in Sörmland and confirms that there is a lot going on regarding the rebuilding of the civil defense. A defense which, according to Harter, took 30-40 years to build up during the Cold War, but which was then dismantled.
– The way society looks today, it is a complex task to rebuild it, says Johan Harter.
Secretive about wiring locations
According to law, every municipality is obliged to have one or more organized places to manage its activities during high alert and war.
SVT Nyheter Sörmland has been in contact with several security and preparedness officers at municipalities around Sörmland. No one wants to show signs with the location of the wiring sites, and it is an attitude shared by the Norwegian Agency for Community Safety and Preparedness (MSB):
– Today we see that there is an increased threat picture. An antagonist might want to do an inventory and see what kind of capability there is in Sweden linked to management positions, and then we don’t want to offer this completely openly. If you find out what capacity or vulnerability a facility has, it becomes easier to knock it out or disrupt it, says Niklas Andén, head of unit at MSB.
Refurbishment is underway in Nyköping
Since 2021, the municipality of Nyköping has collaborated with MSB to equip the municipality’s control points.
At the most recent meeting of the municipal board, it was decided that, among other things, to upgrade the IT environment connected to the sites. This is on the condition that MSB grants an application to cover half of the costs of SEK 5.3 million.
MSB also currently assists several municipalities in Sörmland.
– We support through technical expert advice and come up with proposals for measures that should be suitable to create a good management position, says Niklas Andén at MSB.
In the video at the top: “Has become more urgent”. This is how the municipal council is preparing to lead Nyköping in a serious crisis and war.