You are abroad and you receive information about an emergency situation in Finland – This is what you should do

The Emergency Response Centre Agency's international emergency number can be called in situations where the notifier is abroad but the emergency is in Finland. The emergency number 112 in Finland cannot be reached from abroad.
The Emergency Response Centre Agency has introduced an international number for situations where a person has information about an emergency situation in Finland or another situation requiring immediate action by the authorities while abroad.
– When traveling abroad, people occasionally have an urgent need to connect to the Finnish emergency centre system. Typically, this can be a vague request for help from an elderly relative, which the person abroad becomes aware of. We have wanted to meet this need by launching the Emergency Response Centre Agency's international number, says Lasse Matilainen, Head of the Emergency Response Command Centre.
According to Matilainen, the number is monitored by the Emergency Response Centre Agency. The Command Centre transfers the call to the correct emergency line, and the need for assistance is assessed by the emergency centre, as it is done with other emergency calls.
– Until now, contacts from abroad have been handled through several intermediaries, which has made it difficult and delayed receiving help. With our new service number, Finnish people can now connect to their country's emergency centre system without contacting the local country's emergency centre. We are pleased that we can now meet this service need.
The international number of the Emergency Response Centre Agency: +358 9 2297 0908. The number can be found in the 112 Suomi application's Emergency Numbers tab.
See also
Record number of emergency calls interpreted
Task prioritisation makes it possible to provide help in acute emergencies
The Emergency Response Centre Agency’s guidelines for handling prehospital emergency care tasks were revised at the end of November 2023. The change is reflected in the number of tasks assigned to prehospital emergency care and in their priority distribution.
2024 in review
The Emergency Response Centre Agency’s financial statements for 2024 are complete. The service level of emergency response centre (ERC) operations remained good, even though we were not able to meet all our performance targets. During 2024, absences due to illness decreased and the work load was evened out. Customer confidence and satisfaction in ERC operations remained high.
Record number of emergency calls interpreted
The growth in the foreign-language population is reflected in the number of interpreted emergency calls. The demand for Ukrainian interpretation, for example, has increased significantly over the past few years.
Statistics on the emergency number 112
In 2024, the Emergency Response Centre Agency received an average of 7,600 emergency calls every day. Of these calls, 1,600 should not have been made to the emergency response centre. Roughly one half of the calls were passed on to authorities while the other half were handled by the emergency response centre operator through guidance and advice. The average time in which an emergency call was picked up was seven seconds.
How to instruct different target groups in calling the emergency number
The 112 Day campaign has issued instructions on calling the emergency number for the general public as well as children and young people, older people and foreign-language speakers. Learn more about the instructions and make use of the associated materials.