Brig. Gen. Abdullah Al-Ghosham, director of civilian protection at the Civil Defense’s department that is dealing with Haj, said plans have been made to protect pilgrims in the event of rains and floods.
“The plans include closely monitoring weather in Makkah and the holy sites round the clock and taking precautionary measures accordingly. This will be in coordination with the Meteorology and Environmental Protection Agency,” he said.
“The Civil Defense units will engage in facilitating smooth flow of rainwater and removing barriers in the water passage,” he said, adding that the units will alert pilgrims to keep away from water pools and water passages, besides evacuating pilgrims to safe places in case of emergencies.
Al-Ghosham said the Civil Defense has learned lessons from the floods that hit Jeddah last year. “We have prepared some 20 units that specialize in tackling floods for this year’s Haj. These units include several trained teams of divers and swimmers. They have been equipped with a number of speed boats and advanced safety and rescue devices,” he said, adding that helicopters will also be used for rescue operations in case of flooding.
“Several shelters have been prepared in case pilgrims need to be evacuated from their tents because of flooding. All arrangements have been made in cooperation with the Ministries of Finance and Health to look after pilgrims,” he added.
