Engineering Consultant Group Zaki M.A. Farsi Group has launched the system to help investigate why the floods occurred and avoid a recurrence of the catastrophe, said Osama Al-Nabulsi, assistant head of technology affairs at Farsi Geo Tech Group.
The system is the brainchild of Zaki Mohammed Ali Farsi, owner of Farsi Geo Tech Group, who showed it to Second Deputy Premier and Interior Minister Prince Naif three months before floods hit Jeddah toward the end of last year.
"Farsi warned officials about the floods and presented a series of research papers and maps, and the problems that could happen because of expected rains," said Al-Nabulsi.
He added that Prince Naif subsequently sent a recommendation paper to officials at Jeddah municipality three months before the floods.
"We have received support from the government to build a massive database containing information about Jeddah in terms of its buildings and geography," he said.
"We've received similar support to create a digital map for Riyadh?. ?We want to find out whether the recent floods in Riyadh were caused by a lack of infrastructure or simply heavy rains," he added.
"We used information we have about Jeddah, including satellite photos, to identify the exact movement of floodwater and how it affects the outer areas of Jeddah," he said.
"We were also chosen by the committee investigating the floods to participate in their investigations and present our research and maps to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah," he added.
The system also has the potential to benefit the Kingdom and it gives officials access to accurate information, proper analyses, studies and research to avoid a recurrence of what happened last November.
"The new technology will give government institutions access to the most updated geographical database in the Kingdom to avoid a recurrence of another catastrophe," said Al-Nabulsi.
"The purpose of this system is to know exactly what will happen in the Kingdom in terms of weather," he added.
"With the support of satellites, we will be able to know the weak points in Jeddah's infrastructure and find ways to fix them. From now on, future catastrophes will be identified and we will be able to work hard to avoid them," said Al-Nabulsi.
