RIGA, May 27 (Xinhua) -- Latvia will convert premises in 570 buildings into emergency shelters with 22.19 million euros (25.07 million U.S. dollars) in co-funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
The Latvian government on Tuesday approved a list of eligible properties whose owners will qualify for ERDF funding. The list includes 453 municipal and 117 state-owned buildings.
The ERDF funding will be used to reconstruct or renovate existing spaces to meet third-category emergency shelter standards, which provide protection against various hazards such as explosions and disasters.
The State Fire and Rescue Service has surveyed more than 3,000 state and municipal properties across Latvia and identified over 1,600 buildings with basements suitable for emergency shelter conversion.
On April 30, the Latvian parliament adopted amendments to the Civil Protection and Disaster Management Law, mandating the construction of emergency shelters in specific types of buildings and setting regulations for the development and use of shelters. (1 euro = 1.13 U.S. dollar)
