The Rescue Board (Päästeamet) put this down to Kärdla being a small "garden town," consisting mostly of houses and smaller residential blocks and which lacks massive public concrete buildings with the windowless basements that would be suitable for use as shelters.

Hannes Aasma, head of the Rescue Board's Hiiumaa and Läänemaa region, said: "Kärdla's geological idiosyncrasy is that we are located in an area which has artesian wells, meaning the groundwater at pressure lies very close to the surface. You can stick a pipe into the ground in Kärdla and a geyser will soon start spraying your yard."

"For this reason basements are rarely built deep underground in Kärdla, as they would fill with water rapidly," he continued.

The local government has said that in future, the feasibility of building shelters in new public buildings in Kärdla will be taken into consideration, depending on natural conditions.

For now, the municipality's focus is on keeping residents informed about shelter options in the home.

Piret Sedrik, crisis preparedness specialist with Hiiumaa's municipal government pointed to islanders "strong sense of practicality."

"People here have managed natural forces and shelter needs for centuries, and in the current situation, the municipality's primary focus is on educating individuals, community members, on what they need to know—what to do, where to go," she added.

There are two existing public shelters on the island: The Tuuletorn Center in Käina and Suuremõisa mõis (Suuremõisa manor), both over 15 kilometers from Kärdla.

Public shelters are primarily intended for people out and about when an emergency hits, and who need to seek shelter quickly.

This need not only include military attack; a natural disaster were it to occur in Estonia would also qualify.

Over the past two years and following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Rescue Board, in cooperation with local governments nationwide, has marked those buildings suitable as public shelters with a civil protection designation.

Hannes Aasma said the current focus is on larger towns in Estonia, while the Rescue Board hopes to find suitable solutions for smaller towns as and when resources permit.

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