Mobile System Alerts Dubai Drivers of Approaching Sandstorms
Periodically, large sandstorms and low-visibility conditions wreak havoc in the Middle East, with potentially deadly consequences for drivers. In 2007, a sandstorm in Saudi Arabia caused a pileup involving about 80 cars. In 2008, low-visibility conditions caused a 200-car pileup on the border between Dubai and Abu Dhabi, killing about 25 people. In April 2012, a sandstorm across the United Arab Emirates caused a 23-vehicle pileup in which a dozen people were injured. In 2013, a sandstorm shut down the Dubai airport for three days.
“The 2008 disaster was a major event here, and that’s when the authorities felt that we should have a system not only for monitoring but also for forecasting such events,” says Shaijan Baby, senior sales manager for the survey department of Unique System FZE, a provider of subsea and offshore solutions wholly owned by the Unique Maritime Group.
The geodesy and hydrographic survey section of Dubai Municipality (DM) contracted with this company to develop a mobile application that alerts users about an approaching sandstorm. The system works by means of a combination of ground monitoring stations, satellite data, and a predictive model on a DM server.