More than 4,500 cameras are to be installed in Jeddah with the aim of turning it into a smart city, said Lt. Col. Khadran Al-Zahrani, director of the Center for Crisis and Disasters at the Makkah Governorate. The experiment will soon be implemented across the Kingdom.
Al-Zaharani presented an overview of the center’s tasks during the first Saudi International Conference for Crisis Management, organized by Imam Ahmad bin Saud Islamic University.
The center was established in the wake of the major flood that engulfed Jeddah in 2009 and has since been tasked with coordinating the work between government entities involved in crisis management in Makkah province.
Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal presides over the crisis center, which is equipped with television circuits that monitor the activities of danger-prone areas. These cameras allow for live transmissions via planes equipped with audio and video transmission.
Sensitive cameras, which can predict floods before they happen, will be installed in valleys. The center’s tasks are not limited to weather conditions, but also focus on dangers like floods and earthquakes, as well as industrial hazards and wars. It draws a time chart before, after and during events.
Al-Zahrani explained that work is underway to implement “message event regulations,” which alert the communication tower of a certain area about an approaching disaster, whilst alerting residents of the impending danger and providing safety directions.
The center’s administration manages the event under the directions of higher authorities specialized in rescue operations and fieldwork, the director pointed out.
4,500 cameras to be installed in Jeddah
