A team of world-renowned crisis management experts from the Netherlands is conducting the five-week program, organized by the Crisis Management Center at the Makkah governorate.

Ahmad Al-Sulaim, director general of the project for tackling rainwater and flashfloods at the center, said the program was organized in line with a directive from Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal. Its objective is to update the officials of the concerned departments and agencies on the latest global methodologies and devices that can be applied in crisis and disaster management.

Spelling out the salient features of the training program, Al-Sulaim said the first week of the course focused on managing crises pertaining to public safety, specifically natural disasters. These included preemptive and precautionary measures against natural disasters, carrying out studies about the causes of disasters and ways to prevent them, conducting drills as part of preparedness to confront any emergency situations, warning citizens against possible disasters and taking emergency rescue operations, and reconstruction following natural disasters.

Al-Sulaim said these five goals aimed at protecting civilians in the event of a natural disaster, and they would be achieved in cooperation and coordination with all the concerned agencies and departments.

“The trainees have also been well-acquainted with the organizational structure, and departments and divisions at the center, including its general department as well as departments for crises communications, public support, direct support, planning, operations and logistics,” he said.

Abdul Rahman Al-Moaiqil, director of the project, said the trainees were acquainted with three basic components involved in crisis management exercise. The first is command and control, which includes planning, decision-making, coordination and control. Second is management of information that consists of the required information, management of information, and pictures of joint operation. The third component is contacting people and the media, which includes giving clarifications to the public about what happened and furnish them with guidelines on how to handle in the event of any disasters. 

Al-Moaiqil said that there would be three training courses during the coming three weeks. The weeklong training courses would be focused on acquainting with various ways of tackling natural disasters, especially flashfloods.