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A larger earthquake than those felt by the Israelis in the last two days is sure to come – and the Israelis should be ready for power cuts and, if necessary, to leave their homes. So, warned Amotz Agnon, professor at the Institute of Earth Sciences at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
In an interview conducted by the Israel Project, Agnon said that "when, where and how" are not clear, but more and more serious earthquakes are sure to come.
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The Israelis have felt three earthquakes in the past two days; others were recorded by instruments of the Institute of Geophysics of Israel.
On Thursday, a 3.2 magnitude earthquake on the Richter scale was reported in the cities of Tiberias and Safed in northern Israel. On Wednesday evening, residents of Haifa and Western Galilee felt an earthquake of 4.5, and earlier on Wednesday, residents of the same region felt an earthquake at 4.1 on the scale of Richter. "We had such a small crisis about the same place five years ago in the northwestern part of the Sea of Galilee, which is a hot spot that generates more friction. But we can not tell you if it will deteriorate or give rise to a devastating event – or if it's just another of those episodes that happens once every ten years, "he said.
"We are sitting on a generated earthquakes in the past … they are centered on this belt that we call a plate boundary or rift – the rift of the Dead Sea – and it has generated in the past geological and even in the historical past, very devastating earthquakes. , referring to the magnitude 6.5 earthquake that struck Galilee in 1837, killing 6,000 to 7,000 people.
Asked how civilians can prepare for a more serious earthquake, Agnon urged them to make reservations. Portable cookers in preparation for a few days without electricity, gas and water. People should also know if the buildings in which they live would be safe in the event of an earthquake. In addition, he recommends parents to educate their children on what to do in case of emergency.
Geologist Dr. Ariel Hyman told Walla News Thursday that there was a good chance that a strong earthquake would strike Israel and that hundreds of people would
while the tremors of EARTH in the area tend to be small, it is not – as mentioned by Agnon – in the shelter of larger and more deadly tremors.
In 1927, for example, a 6.2 earthquake on the Richter scale shook the Holy Land. The epicenter was in the northern part of the Dead Sea, causing most of the damage to Jericho, Jerusalem, Tiberias and Nablus. More than 500 people were killed and 700 were injured. The Aksa Mosque on the Temple Mount and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher have suffered significant damage; A report released in 2016 by the Subcommittee on the Preparedness of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defense of Israel revealed that if Israel was to be hit by an earthquake of one magnitude 7.5, it is estimated that 7,000 people would be affected. killed, 8,600 injured and 377,000 homeless. In addition, the country could be facing damage of up to 200 billion NIS.
In addition to the destroyed buildings, the damage to critical infrastructure such as electricity, water and communications should be considerable. According to the Israeli National Emergency Authority, there are 80,000 buildings, including schools and hospitals, of more than three floors that were built before 1980 and therefore were not built according to current standards.
Last May, the government announced that the Canadian company Nanometrics was chosen to install an early warning system in the Dead Sea Valley, the Jordan Valley and the Haifa region – all regions subject to to earthquakes. At the same time, the Israeli Institute of Geophysics has announced that it is improving all its seismic systems.
Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman noted Thursday that his ministry had carried out the largest exercise in anticipation of an earthquake. Last month, he said, he will present it to the cabinet and is confident that the plan, which addresses threats posed by war and earthquakes, will be given the go-ahead.
The big question is whether it will be implemented on time.
Anna Ahronheim and Yaakov Katz contributed to this report.
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