Emergency numbers and help in Latvia

The numbers

• 112 works from any phone, free, with no credit and no SIM, and operators handle English.
• 113 reaches an ambulance directly and is marginally faster for a purely medical emergency.
• 110 is the police if the matter is only a police matter.

Say where you are

• GPS interference is a live problem in Latvia - see the safety section - so do not assume your phone can report your position.
• Note your accommodation's address and the nearest junction. Latvian street names are hard to relay by phone if you have not written them down.

If you need help

• Report a theft to the police and get a written record. Your insurer will require it, and for the bar-bill disputes Riga is known for, a report is the only thing that carries weight afterwards.
• A lost passport means the police first, then your embassy.
• Your embassy cannot pay your bills or get you out of jail, but it can issue emergency travel documents and provide lists of lawyers and doctors.
• Several countries cover Latvia from another Baltic capital rather than having an embassy in Riga - check before you need to know.