Emergency Management in Saudi Arabia:
Past, Present and Future
Yassar A. Alamri'
He who is secure in his house, healthy in his body and has his
food for the day, has owned the world"- Prophet Mohammed
Introduction
The management of potentially hazardous situations such as religious mass
gatherings has been the duty of the people of Makkah (now part of Saudi Arabia) for
many centuries. Inhabitants of Makkah used to evacuate their houses to accommodate the
incoming pilgrims, and servants of the Holy Mosque used to distribute cold water to
quench pilgrims` thirst. This concept of serving mass gatherings formed the nucleus of
the first emergency management plans ir the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Today, Saudi
Arabia covers most of the Arabian Peninsula and has faced many other risks in addition
to those arising from religious mass gatherings
In order to improve on the existing emergency management policies and plans, it
is of crucial importance to examine the current emergency management system. It is also
pivotal tO reflect back on previous disasters and learn lessons from them to avoid
commiting the same mistakes again. It is saddening to discover that most emergency
policies implemented are either out-of-date, not fully documented or not easily
obtainable. This chapter will look at current hazards and vulnerabilities in Saudi Arabia. It
vill also provide a list of major disasters in Saudi history, and describe the curren
emergency management policies in the country. Finally, lessons learned from these
disasters and areas of improvement will be critically discussed. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is located in western Asia. It takes up most of the
Arabian Peninsula, with a surface area of 2,149,690 km and a population of 27.137
million (Central Department of Statistics and Information, 2010, United Nations:
Statistics Division, 2008). Of this population, 30% are 14 years or younger and only
4.75% are 60 years or older. International migrant stock, such as guest workers, represent
27.8% of the total population (Ministry of Economy and Planning, 2010-2014). Saudi
Arabia's population living in rural areas makes up 18.6% of the total population. The
geography is varied, from coastal regions in the eastern and western parts, to
mountainous regions in the ;outh-west, and finally to the Rub? al Khali desert running
along the country's southern boarders where almost no life exists. The country is divided
nto 13 provinces which are further divided into governorates, each of these has a capita
that is headed py a governor. Figure 1 shows a simplified map of Saudi Arabia and 1ts
major cities. Medical student and PhD candidate (MBChB/PhD) at Christchurch School of Medicine, University of
Otago and Van der Veer Research Institute, P.O. Box 4345, Christchurch 8140, New Zealand. E-mail:
yasao@hotmail.com Hazards in Saudi Arabia
A hazard can be thought of as a potential risk endangering human life or health,
property or the environment. However, if this risk does lead to an incident, it is referred
to as an emergency situation or, if the damage is overwhelming, a disaster. Such events
are often the result of human factors, environmental hazards or natural causes. Although
considerable overlap occurs between these factors, there is usually one factor that
contributes significantly more than the others. This section will review hazards in Saudi
Arabia classified according to the main contributory factor
Human-related risks:
Terrorist attacks: Up until recent years, terrorist attacks have very rarely, if at all, been
heard of in Saudi Arabia. Citizens and foreigners have co-habitated for decades, even
pefore the foundation of the current Saudi Arabia. This was especially the case in areas