What should you do when an air-raid or missile alert sounds?

Short answer. Act immediately: go to the nearest designated shelter, a sturdy building or an underground space ¹⁵. If you cannot reach one safely, stay inside in a central room with as few windows and exterior walls as possible ³⁵⁷. Outdoors with no building nearby, lie flat and cover your head ¹³. Japan warns a missile may arrive in under 10 minutes ¹; Israel asks people to stay sheltered 10 minutes ³.

How much time do you have after the alert?

Very little, and it depends on where you are. Japan's Cabinet Secretariat says a ballistic missile may take less than 10 minutes to reach Japan after launch ¹. In Israel, the Home Front Command gives each town (and each zone of a large city) its own "time available to reach shelter," and states that the length of the public siren is the time you have to reach and enter the protected space ³. You can look up your zone and its time on the national emergency portal or the Home Front Command app ³.

The practical lesson is the same everywhere: the decision about where you will go must be made before the alert. Poland's interior ministry asks residents to check the route to their nearest shelter point, and how to get in, in advance, and to plan another place if none is close ⁵.

Where should you go first?

Official guidance ranks places in a similar order.

1. A designated shelter or protected space. Israel lists, in order of priority, a residential, floor or institutional protected space (MAMAD/MAMAK), then a shared or public shelter ³. Ukraine's DSNS says that when an air-raid warning is announced, everyone should go to a shelter ⁴. Poland names a shelter point marked or indicated by the services ⁵.
2. Underground or a sturdy building. Japan recommends an emergency temporary evacuation facility designated by the prefecture, a sturdy building such as a concrete one, or an underground facility such as a shopping arcade or subway station, adding that any other building or underground space "will also be fine" ¹. Poland lists a suitably prepared underground garage, basement, tunnel or underpass, or a building with solid walls and ceilings and no visible damage ⁵.
3. A central room in your own building. If you cannot get to a shelter safely, Poland says to stay in the building and move to a central room without windows, away from exterior walls, on the lowest floor ⁵. Finland's guidance says to stay in the middle of the building, in a room with solid walls, away from windows and doors ⁷.

Do not take risks to reach a distant shelter. Poland's instruction says that if reaching the shelter would mean a long time outside, you should not try at all costs, and should stay in or enter a solid, undamaged building instead ⁵.

What is the "two-wall rule," and is it official?

The two-wall rule means keeping at least two solid walls between you and the outside. It is official guidance in Poland: the ministry's instruction states that "at least two solid walls should be between you and the outside space" and applies it to the central room of your home ⁵. In Ukraine, a DSNS official in Kyiv described it as a fallback, to be used if shelling catches someone by surprise; the spots can be between two load-bearing walls or in a doorway, with no glass nearby ⁴. Israel does not use the term but describes the same idea: an inner room "with as few exterior walls, windows and openings as possible," or an inner stairwell with no exterior walls, windows or openings ³.

Agencies disagree on bathrooms and stairwells, so follow the guidance of the country you are in:

None of these sources gives a way to calculate how much protection a particular room offers. Whether a basement or room in your building is structurally sound is a question for a qualified structural engineer, not for a checklist.

What should you do indoors once you are there?

• Stay low and away from glass. Israel says to sit in an inner corner, below the window line and not in front of the door ³. Japan says to move away from windows or into a windowless room ¹. Ukraine's DSNS warns that windows can be blown into the apartment by a shock wave ⁴.
• Close up. Israel asks people to close the door and windows of the room ³.
• Use stairs, not lifts. Poland and Ukraine both say not to use elevators ⁵⁴; the DSNS official notes that a lift may stop during a power cut ⁴.
• Take your bag and medicines only if they are ready. Poland advises taking a pre-packed evacuation backpack and essential medicines when going to a shelter point, but not to waste time tidying or moving things during the threat ⁵.
• Don't linger in doorways. Israel warns against staying at a building entrance because of fragments and blast, and asks people to leave the building's front door open for those outside ³.

What if you are outdoors or driving?

• Outdoors: enter the nearest building ¹³. If that is impossible, lie on the ground and protect your head with your hands ³; Japan also says to hide under anything that offers cover ¹. Poland adds that if you hear an explosion in the open, you should drop to the ground, ideally in a hollow, and cover your head ⁵.
• In a car: Israel says to stop carefully at the roadside and enter a nearby building; if that is impossible, step away from the vehicle, lie down and protect your head ³. Poland says to leave the vehicle, park so it does not block emergency vehicles, and go to the nearest shelter ⁵.
• On public transport: on an intercity bus or train in Israel, bend below the window line and protect your head ³.

When can you come out?

Wait for the official signal or message, not for the noise to stop. Israel's rule is to wait in the protected space "for 10 minutes, no less" ³. Finland tells people to stay inside until the authorities say it is safe ⁶ and to wait for the all-clear ⁷; there, the all-clear is a continuous tone lasting one minute ⁶.

After an impact nearby, the advice changes. Japan says that outdoors you should cover your nose and mouth, move away from the impact zone and shelter in a well-sealed building or move upwind; indoors, turn off ventilation, close windows and seal openings ¹. Israel warns against gathering where a missile or interceptor fragments have fallen and to keep away from unexploded ordnance ³.

What official agencies recommend

• Japan (Cabinet Secretariat): warnings come with special sirens over municipal disaster radio and as J-ALERT emergency messages to mobile phones ¹; the Civil Protection Portal Site publishes the government's guidance ². Stay calm and act immediately, shelter in a sturdy building or underground, move away from windows indoors ¹.
• Israel (Home Front Command): enter the protected space within your zone's time, close door and windows, and stay 10 minutes ³.
• Ukraine (DSNS): go to a shelter on every alert; use the two-wall rule only when caught by surprise; avoid elevators and windows ⁴.
• Poland (MSWiA): use a checked shelter point if the route is safe and you have time; otherwise a central windowless room using the two-wall rule ⁵.
• Finland (Suomi.fi): the public warning signal is a rising and falling sound lasting one minute; go indoors at once, stop ventilation and close doors, windows and vents ⁶. Stay in the middle of the building, in a room with solid walls ⁷.

Frequently asked questions

How do I know it is a real alert and not a test?

In Finland, a real warning is a rising and falling sound for one minute, while the monthly test, on the first Monday of each month except public holidays, is a steady seven-second sound ⁶. Other countries use different signals, so check your national alert page. Phone alerts, such as Japan's J-ALERT messages, state the threat in words ¹.

Is a bathroom a good place to shelter?

It depends on the country. Israel says not to choose a kitchen, bathroom or toilet ³. Poland accepts a bathroom only if it has no window, boiler or gas heater ⁵, and Ukraine's DSNS warns that bathrooms in block-type buildings, especially older ones, cannot be considered safe ⁴.

Should I go outside to reach a public shelter?

Only if you have time and the route is safe. Poland says not to try at all costs if it means a long time outside ⁵, while Ukraine's DSNS says everyone should go to a shelter when the alert is announced ⁴. Knowing your route and travel time beforehand settles this question.

Can I rely on air defence and stay where I am?

No. Israel's Home Front Command states: "Do not rely on Air Defense Systems alone" ³.

Make your plan before the next alert

Your shelter, your route and the time you have are decisions to make in calm conditions ³⁵. The Phaenyx personal plan ($29 free for a limited time) helps you write them down for your home and your country's official guidance. Build your Phaenyx plan.

Sources

1. Cabinet Secretariat of Japan, Civil Protection Portal Site — Actions in case of a missile flying to Japan — https://www.kokuminhogo.go.jp/en/pdf/action(English).pdf (accessed 2026-10-20)
2. Cabinet Secretariat of Japan — Civil Protection Portal Site (English) — https://www.kokuminhogo.go.jp/en/ (accessed 2026-10-20)
3. Israel Home Front Command — Life-Saving Guidelines during Rocket and Missile Attack — https://govextra.gov.il/media/muriknoe/%D7%90%D7%A0%D7%92%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%AA-%D7%97%D7%99%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%9D.pdf (accessed 2026-10-20)
4. Dovidka.info (Centre for Strategic Communication and Information Security, Ukraine), quoting the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, Kyiv directorate — Russians are shelling Ukrainian cities: how to equip a shelter and get out of the rubble? — https://dovidka.info/en/?p=4018 (accessed 2026-10-20)
5. Ministry of the Interior and Administration of Poland (MSWiA) — Instrukcja reagowania: zagrożenie atakiem z powietrza — https://www.gov.pl/attachment/b6d18f0b-0412-455b-acb8-a64df52dfb67 (accessed 2026-10-20)
6. Suomi.fi — Emergency warnings, the public warning signal and early warnings — https://www.suomi.fi/citizen/safety-and-security/emergencies-and-security/guide/what-to-do-in-an-emergency/emergency-warnings-the-public-warning-signal-and-early-warnings (accessed 2026-10-20)
7. Suomi.fi — Aerial threat — https://www.suomi.fi/guides/preparedness/how-to-prepare-for-incidents-and-crises/threat-from-the-air (accessed 2026-10-20)