Many Israeli cities at high risk of earthquakes are unprepared – Observer

The State Comptroller’s Office reported Tuesday that many earthquake-prone Israeli cities are unprepared and have unfortified buildings and schools, despite lessons from the devastation in Turkey last month.

The report stated that a strong earthquake is expected to occur during the next fifty years between southern Lebanon and the southern Dead Sea along the Syrian-African rift.

Major areas along the fault, including Beit She’an, Tiberias, Safed, Kiryat Shmona and Hatzor Haglilit, were reviewed in a review.

How can Israel prepare for an earthquake?

The best preparation for an earthquake is to strengthen critical infrastructure, including residential and public buildings, the report said.

The report indicated that the Ministry of Construction and Housing has not yet fortified 93% of all buildings that were previously identified as needing immediate improvement in the areas that were subject to review, and 70% of schools that need reinforcement have not yet been renovated.

Geological survey at work to detect earthquakes. (Credit: David Weil/Anaba Photo)

She added that the cost of fortifying 1,124 buildings and 38 schools would amount to 2.34 billion shekels.

Other preparations, such as logistics and emergency services, were also considered necessary in Turkey to face the disaster after earthquakes.

The report said that the emergency preparedness in Beit She’an and Hatzor Haglilit is weak, but it is good in Tiberias and Safed and very good in Kiryat Shmona.

The Beit She’an municipality said it welcomed the state comptroller’s report, adding that it has been warning and appealing to the government about this issue for nearly two decades. She said the lack of budget implementation is the address to deal with this issue, not Beit She’an and other local authorities, who “do not have the capacity and budget resources to strengthen buildings or develop infrastructure, bridges and access roads.”

In recent years, the Beit She’an municipality has been working to improve its earthquake preparedness through restructuring, improving access roads, purchasing equipment for municipal emergency warehouses, holding courses and training for emergency response teams, and training authority officials. We will, of course, work to correct the shortcomings mentioned in the report with the means at our disposal, without forgetting that the only solution that exists is an immediate government budget to strengthen buildings in cities at risk, and only then will the worst be avoided.

The Ministry of Construction and Housing said that it has realized the importance of fortifying buildings. She added that in recent years, several public housing buildings owned by the ministry have been fortified.

The ministry said it did not have a budget dedicated to the issue because the government had not assigned it the task.

“We note that as part of the ministry’s budget summary for the years 2023-2024, tens of millions of shekels will be allocated to build an earthquake preparedness plan,” the ministry said.

The state comptroller’s office said the report was another entry in a series of audits that pointed to a long-standing failure in Israel’s earthquake preparedness.

“The reminder we received from the earthquake in Turkey should shake the foundations of the government.”

Engelman eyes

“The reminder we received of the earthquake in Turkey should shake the foundations of the government,” said State Comptroller Matanyahu Engelman, adding that the situation “should deprive the prime minister and government ministers of sleep.”

He urged the prime minister and the ministers for defence, construction, housing, interior and finance to work together with municipal governments to quickly address the issue.

The earthquakes that struck Turkey on February 6 at the northern end of the Syria-Africa Rift killed more than 55,000 people and injured 130,000 others in Syria and Turkey. The state comptroller’s report stated that the disaster caused the collapse of more than 12,000 buildings and the displacement of 500,000 people.

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