Almost 3,000 shelters exist in Greece to protect the civilian population if necessary, as stated by the Deputy Minister of Citizen Protection, Ioannis Lambropoulos, in response to a related question in Parliament on Friday (07.11.2025).
In response to a question addressed to him by the president of the Hellenic Solution, Kyriakos Velopouloso Mr. Lampropoulos forwarded to the Parliament information on the places designated as shelters, so that he is safe civilians.
Mr. Velopoulos had addressed his question to the Ministers of Citizen Protection, Climate Crisis and Civil Protection and the Minister of National Defense, while he had asked to be informed of the current status of the shelters and whether there is an updated register with their location, capacity and readiness. Also, if inspections and maintenance have been carried out in recent years, what are their results and what is the State’s plan for upgrading or creating new shelters.
“During the current time period, in all the Regional Units of the country, e2,892 places have been designated as shelters, with a total capacity of 1,981,514 people (with the possibility of increasing this by 30%)“, states the Deputy Minister of Citizen Protection, the first who has so far responded to the president of the Hellenic Solution.
“The protection of the civilian population in crisis situations, be it natural disasters or emergency situations due to geopolitical or military developments, is a fundamental obligation of the state”, said the president of the Hellenic Solution and noted that “the need to strengthen Civil Defense becomes even more imperative in view of modern risks:
High-intensity natural disasters, climate crisis, biological and technological threats, but also possible geopolitical tensions that can directly affect the safety of citizens”.
He also mentioned that Greece, as a member state of the European Union and NATO, is committed to strengthening the resilience of political structures and the ability to coordinate between political and military agencies.
In his answer, the Deputy Minister of Citizen Protection, Ioannis Lambropoulos, states that the Palaical Defense – Emergency Policy Planning Service (P.AM. – P.S.E.A.), in the context of its mission, in accordance with the provisions of n.d/tos 17/1974 (F.E.K. A’ – 236) and the p.d/tos 1097/1981 (F.E.K. A’ – 266), is responsible for the Political Mobilization of the Ministry of Citizen Protection and the Civil Defense of the country and in this light, it ensures the protection of the civilian population – from hostile attacks in war – in shelters and suitable places for this, which are available on behalf of the regions of the country. Mr. Lambropoulos points out that by a relevant decision of the relevant Regional Governor, in each regional unit (e.g.) of his area of responsibility, Committees are formed, for a three-year term, with the object of finding and marking new areas, suitable to be used as shelters, and the aggregated statements of the shelter areas, as they are formed by the competent Committees, are sent to the P.AM Service. – P.S.E.A. At the same time, the Deputy Minister of Citizen Protection underlines that the Local Government Organizations are responsible for the maintenance of the existing public spaces that have been designated as shelters, while, respectively, for the maintenance of the private spaces, which can be used for other reasons – besides residence – provided that, if required, their preparation and operational use for the accommodation of the civilian population is ensured within 24 hours, it is the owners thereof.