Emergency preparedness in Croatia: official advice at a glance

Short answer. In Croatia, the Civil Protection Directorate of the Ministry of the Interior asks households to keep a survival kit with water and food for at least 2 days, counting 1.5 to 2 litres of water per person per day ¹. Warnings come from sirens and, since August 2023, from SRUUK messages to every phone in the affected area ²³. The country has about 2,040 public shelters for 367,965 people ⁴.

Information verified on 20 October 2026.

Who is responsible for emergency preparedness in Croatia?

The Civil Protection Directorate (Ravnateljstvo civilne zaštite), part of the Ministry of the Interior, publishes the household advice, runs the public warning system and operates the 112 emergency number around the clock ¹³⁵. Since 2015, towns and municipalities manage public shelters under Article 96 of the Civil Protection System Act ⁶⁴. The Ministry of Health sets the iodine prophylaxis plan for an accident at the Krško nuclear plant in Slovenia ⁷.

In 2023 the Directorate published a 20-page brochure, "Uloga građana u sustavu civilne zaštite" (The role of citizens in the civil protection system), covering alerts, sheltering, evacuation and family preparation, with a basic emergency-bag list ⁸. It is available online as a PDF; no household mail-out was found ⁸. The Directorate also publishes online "Instructions for citizens" and other leaflets, for example on earthquakes and on mines and unexploded ordnance ¹⁸.

What does each Croatian page cover?

What should a household in Croatia do first?

1. Put together the survival kit from the Directorate's list: water and food for at least 2 days, a battery radio, a torch, documents and money ¹.
2. Learn the three public siren signals, and remember that the monthly test on the first Saturday at 12:00 uses the "end of danger" tone ².
3. Keep your phone on: SRUUK warnings reach all phones in the area, including foreign phones on roaming, without an app ³.
4. Ask your town or municipality where the nearest public shelter is, since there is no national locator ⁴.
5. Write the phone numbers of household members, relatives and friends on paper and keep them in the kit ¹.

Our general guides go further: family emergency plan, 72-hour kit, water per person, earthquake preparedness and shelter or evacuate.

Frequently asked questions

Which Croatian agency is in charge of civil protection?

The Civil Protection Directorate (Ravnateljstvo civilne zaštite) of the Ministry of the Interior. It publishes the survival-kit list and the 2023 citizens' brochure, runs SRUUK and operates 112 ¹⁸³⁵.

Does Croatia have public nuclear shelters?

Yes. About 2,040 shelters with room for 367,965 people, less than 10% of the population, according to Directorate data from September 2023 cited by the State Audit Office ⁴. Towns and municipalities manage them; there is no national register or locator ⁴.

How will I be warned in Croatia?

By sirens, followed by announcements on radio, TV and loudspeakers, and by SRUUK messages sent by SMS or cell broadcast to every phone in the affected area ²¹⁰³.

Which nuclear plant does Croatia's iodine plan cover?

The Krško nuclear plant in Slovenia. The plan covers the Croatian territory within 25 km of it, two towns and 11 municipalities ⁷.

Sources

1. Ministarstvo unutarnjih poslova - Ravnateljstvo civilne zaštite — Komplet za preživljavanje — https://civilna-zastita.gov.hr/istaknute-teme/upute-za-gradjane-7375/sto-je-vazno-znati-prije-nesrece-za-vrijeme-trajanja-nesrece-i-po-zavrsetku-nesrece/komplet-za-prezivljavanje/7534 (accessed 2026-10-20)
2. Ministarstvo unutarnjih poslova - Ravnateljstvo civilne zaštite — Znakovi za uzbunjivanje (plakat) — https://civilna-zastita.gov.hr/znakovi-za-uzbunjivanje/143 (accessed 2026-10-20)
3. Ministarstvo unutarnjih poslova - Ravnateljstvo civilne zaštite — SRUUK - Sustav za rano upozoravanje i upravljanje krizama — https://civilna-zastita.gov.hr/sruuk-sustav-za-rano-upozoravanje-i-upravljanje-krizama/7097 (accessed 2026-10-20)
4. Državni ured za reviziju — Izvješće o radu Državnog ureda za reviziju za 2023. godinu - Upravljanje i održavanje skloništa za slučajeve katastrofa — https://www.revizija.hr/UserDocsImages/izvjesca-novo/Revizije%20-%202023/IZVJESCE_O_RADU_DUR-A_ZA_2023/IZVJESCE%20O%20RADU%20DRZAVNOG%20UREDA%20ZA%20REVIZIJU%20ZA%202023.pdf (accessed 2026-10-20)
5. Ministarstvo unutarnjih poslova - Ravnateljstvo civilne zaštite — Broj 112 — https://civilna-zastita.gov.hr/broj-112/81 (accessed 2026-10-20)
6. Narodne novine — Zakon o sustavu civilne zaštite (NN 82/15), članci 96. i 98. — https://narodne-novine.nn.hr/clanci/sluzbeni/2015_07_82_1567.html (accessed 2026-10-20)
7. Ministarstvo zdravlja / Narodne novine — Standardni operativni postupak o opsegu i načinu provedbe jodne profilakse u slučaju izvanrednog događaja u Nuklearnoj elektrani Krško (NN 18/2015) — https://narodne-novine.nn.hr/clanci/sluzbeni/2015_02_18_391.html (accessed 2026-10-20)
8. Ministarstvo unutarnjih poslova - Ravnateljstvo civilne zaštite — Uloga građana u sustavu civilne zaštite i kako svojim djelovanjem možete pomoći u izgradnji sigurnijeg društva (2023) — https://civilna-zastita.gov.hr/UserDocsImages/CIVILNA%20ZA%C5%A0TITA/PDF_ZA%20WEB/Uloga%20gra%C4%91ana%20u%20sustavu%20civilne%20za%C5%A1tite%20-%20bro%C5%A1ura.pdf (accessed 2026-10-20)
9. HALMED (Agencija za lijekove i medicinske proizvode) — Kalijev jodid Sandoz 65 mg tablete - Medicinal Products Database — https://www.halmed.hr/en/Lijekovi/Baza-lijekova/Kalijev-jodid-Sandoz-65-mg-tablete/15594/ (accessed 2026-10-20)
10. Ministarstvo unutarnjih poslova - Ravnateljstvo civilne zaštite — Rano upozoravanje i uzbunjivanje — https://civilna-zastita.gov.hr/rano-upozoravanje-i-uzbunjivanje/144 (accessed 2026-10-20)