Denmark has 3.6M shelter spots underground

Denmark has 3.6 million spaces in shelters underground to accommodate 61% of its population in case of war, reports Jyllands-Posten. This assessment, prompted by concerns following the outbreak of war in Ukraine, took two years and updates a nearly 20-year-old count from 2002, when there were 4.7 million spaces. As of June 19, 2024, 3.4 million of these are in readiness rooms that can be prepared if necessary. Læsø is the only municipality without shelter spaces, while Copenhagen has 455,131. The 2002 inventory followed the al-Qaeda attacks in the USA. Over time, some rooms have been decommissioned without replacements being built. Municipalities manage these shelters, which in peacetime serve various uses, such as storage or music rehearsal spaces, but must be ready for activation with notice.