MAKKAH: A Center for the Command and Monitoring of Natural Disasters has been set up in Makkah with the involvement of 10 government authorities to improve coordination and readiness for emergences produced by sudden environmental changes. Abdul Aziz Sarouji, Dean of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Institute for Haj Research at Umm Al-Qura University, said the center was the result of studies conducted by researchers at the institute which concluded that there was a need for greater coordination of efforts and improved efficiency in response to disasters. “The institute has begun setting out the regulations, purpose and procedures for the center, which works under the authority of the Civil Defense,” Sarouji said. He said that the center would gather representatives from the Civil Defense, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Institute for Haj Research, the Makkah Mayor's Office, the National Geological Survey, as well as meteorological and environmental bodies, the Ministry of Transport, Saudi Electricity Company, and the office of the Emir of Makkah. “The official representatives at the center will be given intensive workshops in the next few weeks on the center's work procedures, and training in natural disaster emergency response,” he said.
