Increased civil preparedness in Östergötland's archipelago

Östergötland's archipelago consists of approximately 8,000 islands and a fine-meshed coastline. Living in the archipelago means being at the mercy of the weather, and especially in winter, the archipelago becomes particularly inaccessible during storms, dense fog, or the time when the ice neither supports nor breaks. Those who live, work, and spend time here need tools to intervene, avert, and help each other in case of fire, illness, or accident until help from outside can arrive.

Dialogue within and between islanders, archipelago associations, village councils, municipalities, regions, county administrative boards, rescue services, sea rescue, and others has clarified the need to strengthen local preparedness and response capability in the area. Together, they have developed a project that focuses on improving civil preparedness and streamlining cooperation with regular public and private rescue services (individual households and private individuals' responsibilities are not included). The work has been inspired by the Småland Coast's archipelago association, which has worked exemplary on preparedness issues in the archipelago for a longer time.

Project goals

The increased preparedness capability is primarily intended to benefit those who live in inaccessible places in the archipelago – especially the two hundred islanders scattered across 47 islands in Arkösund, Sankt Anna, Gryt, and Tjust archipelagos – but also the tens of thousands of visitors and seasonal residents who spend time here during parts of the year. The project aims to purchase equipment (submersible pumps, fire extinguishers, defibrillators, first aid equipment), establish preparedness plans and
networks, as well as provide training. A number of well-visited areas with high natural values are also intended to be identified and strengthened with first aid materials and simpler fire extinguishing equipment.