Lithuania's emergency line handles record 24,427 calls during storm

Lithuania's General Assistance Center (BPC) experienced its busiest day ever, receiving 24,427 calls during a severe storm on Saturday. This volume was nearly five times higher than a typical weekend and significantly exceeded previous records, which hovered around 8,000 calls.

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This was an exceptional day not only in terms of the total number of calls but also their intensity. When up to 14 calls per second come into the system simultaneously, even a very large team cannot physically answer them all at the same moment.

The call center's system, however, maintained stability throughout the unprecedented surge. At its peak, between 4 PM and 6 PM, the center handled up to 14 calls per second. Despite the intense pressure, the average response time for the entire day was 58 seconds, with 42% of calls answered in under 8 seconds. The longest wait time recorded was 4 minutes and 22 seconds, a duration officials stressed was manageable given the circumstances.

"This was an exceptional day not only in terms of the total number of calls but also their intensity," said Jelena Montvilienė, deputy head of the BPC. "When up to 14 calls per second come into the system simultaneously, even a very large team cannot physically answer them all at the same moment." She emphasized that the system's stability and the operators' continuous work in relaying requests to emergency services were crucial.

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We understand that in a critical situation, even a few minutes of waiting can seem very long to a person, but the system data allows us to see the actual waiting time – the longest yesterday was 4 min. 22 sec.

To manage the expected high volume, the BPC had increased its staff by 30%. The center also issued a reminder to the public about responsible use of the emergency number 112. They urged callers not to redial if they encounter a wait, as this places them at the back of the queue. The public was also reminded to reserve the 112 line for genuine emergencies threatening life, health, property, or safety, and to use alternative numbers, like 1852 for power outages, for non-life-threatening issues.

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The most important thing is that the system withstood the record load, operated stably, and the operators were receiving requests for help and forwarding them to services and institutions all the time.