A series of events were held across the Kingdom to mark World Civil Defense Day on Monday.

Exhibitions, rallies, safety demonstrations and drills were held in the Kingdom’s various cities in a bid to educate residents about the importance of being ready to handle natural and domestic disasters, from floods to fire.

Maj. Gen. Sulaiman Al-Amro, director-general of the Civil Defense, pointed out that the countrywide events also involved lectures, seminars and visits to schools, universities and government and private sector entities in efforts to promote a culture of safety.

The slogan of this year’s event was “Toward a safer society.”

Madinah Gov. Prince Faisal bin Salman launched activities to mark the day at the Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz Sports City in Madinah. Brig. Gen. Zuhair Sebaih said that the youth who participated in the event had been carefully selected by academics.

“The day highlights the importance of work undertaken by Civil Defense in preventing and addressing crises and disasters that threaten human life, property and the environment,” Col. Saeed Al-Ghamdi and Col. Waheed Al-Murad of the Civil Defense in Makkah told Arab News.

Abdulaziz Al-Khudairi, deputy governor of the Makkah province, launched celebrations in the presence of senior officials from the Ministry of Education.

“The warning sirens launched on Monday in Jeddah are a unique feature designed to attract the attention of residents’ to the importance of being equipped to deal with emergencies,” Al-Murad said.

“We conducted safety exhibitions at the Serafi and Red Sea malls in Jeddah to share preventive measures with residents,” Al-Ghamdi said.

Prince Jalawi bin Abdulaziz, assistant deputy governor of the Eastern Province, launched the Saudi International Exhibition for Fire, Safety, Security & Civil Defense on behalf of Eastern Province Gov. Prince Saud bin Naif.

The exhibition, organized by the Civil Defense Department, hosted activities at its main center in Dammam.

Maj. Gen. Abdullah Al-Khashman, Civil Defense director in the Eastern Province, said the exhibition is being held with the participation of more than 150 local and international companies and will continue until March 4.

— Yousuf Muhammad, Saeed Asmari & Irfan Mohammed contributed to this report.