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An earthquake of 4.5 on the Richter scale rocked northern Israel on Monday morning, well below the deadly levels but still noticeable to the inhabitants of the region. It was the strongest of the minor earthquakes that shook the region around the Sea of Galilee for several days.
The force of the earthquake is described in logarithmic Richter scale, and is a function of the energy released by the earthquake. An earthquake measuring a magnitude of 5 is 10 times more powerful than an earthquake measuring 4, and is 100 times more powerful than an earthquake measuring 3.
Generally, earthquakes of less than 6 on the Richter Scale cause little or no damage or losses, although this largely depends on the local infrastructure and soil type.
Israel is sitting on the Dead Sea Fault. The Dead Sea itself and the Sea of Galilee, a freshwater lake, lie throughout this fault, which extends from Africa to Turkey.
The Dead Sea Fault has generated fatal earthquakes in the past, the most recent in 1927, which measured 6.3 on the Richter scale. Hundreds of people were killed. An earthquake in 1837 razed the cities of Tiberias and Safed.
A big earthquake will hit Israel and Jordan at some point. The question is when, but no one can even hypothesize about it at this point. Theoretically, the Dead Sea Fault generates a major earthquake every 80 to 100 years, geologists say. In other words, from the point of view of statistics, he is late.
The earthquake swarms started in Israel on Wednesday morning, when 11 shocks were recorded, the strongest being 4.1 on the Richter scale.
But swarms, some of which come from 10 kilometers below the surface of the Earth, do not necessarily claim that the "big" is imminent. Swarms usually go down, as happened in 2013, says Yariv Hamiel, head of geological hazards at the Geological Institute of Israel. Swarms are not considered predictive of a large earthquake to come; rarely, a swarm of small tremors can be followed by a big tremor.
Affecting the earth and the living
A major earthquake can affect the earth and the living in many ways. This could crack the Earth's surface along the active fault, which is a scenario threatening the seaside town of the Red Sea, Eilat. It is also on the Dead Sea Fault.
An additional potential danger is a landslide that could, in the case of Israel, threaten Tiberias and Safed. Another problem is amplification, a scenario planned for the Jezreel Valley in the northern part of the country.
Then there is liquefaction, when the soil behaves like a liquid. This can occur during an earthquake, for example, in cities built on landfills or in heavy water soils. This type of phenomenon threatens Haifa Bay, for example, and parts of the Israeli coast.
A last earthquake hazard is a tsunami, which is not likely to result from an earthquake along the Dead Sea Fault, but poses a general danger to all coastal countries are faced. It is important to note that a large lake can also produce tsunamis if a landslide is one, for example.
Contrary to conventional wisdom, tsunamis occur in the Mediterranean. Debris found over the Phoenician tombs in Tel Achziv, in northern Israel, suggest that a tsunami hit the Israeli coast 2,800 years ago.
Earthquakes are much more common than tsunamis: in fact, Israel lives them almost daily, but most are too small to be noticed by anything other than sensors. Earthquakes still can not be predicted, although work is done all over the world with this aspiration in mind.
However, in the case of powerful earthquakes, lives can be saved if people take refuge after being warned the second time the earthquake begins. Israel is installing an earthquake-alarm system called Tru-a, which will be powered by 120 seismic sensors placed along the Dead Sea valley up to the Sea of Galilee. in the Jordan Valley and Mount Carmel.
When an earthquake begins and is detected by the system, alerts will be sent to the Home Front Command and disseminated to the general public, so that people can shelter there. Jerusalemers are expected to get about 10 seconds in advance, while in Tel Aviv – which is further away from the planned epicentres – it may take up to 25 seconds.
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