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August 27, 1999/15 Elul 5759, Vol. 51, No.47
Committee appointed to study quake preparedness
AVI MACHLIS
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
JERUSALEM - The horrific damage caused by the Turkish earthquake has prodded the Israeli government into considering comprehensive plans to minimize damage if Israel, which sits on an active seismic zone, is ever hit by a large earthquake.
Last Sunday, Aug. 22, Prime Minister Ehud Barak told the Cabinet that Israel must learn from the Turkish disaster and buildings must be built according to the highest standards. Minister of Industry and Trade Ran Cohen appointed a committee Monday, Aug. 23, to examine to what extent industry and commerce are prepared to function in the event of an earthquake.
A special joint meeting of the Knesset State Comptrollers Committee and the Knesset Science Committee convened the same day to discuss how to prepare the country for a potential earthquake. "We cannot let this slip through the public agenda," said Eliezer Goldberg, Israel's state comptroller.
Avi Shapira, head of the seismology division at the Geophysical Institute of Israel, which monitors earthquake activity, told the committee that there is even a small chance of an earthquake hitting Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Haifa simultaneously. He later told JTA that although the frequency of earthquakes in Israel is much lower than in earthquake-prone regions like California, Japan and Turkey, Israel is likely to get hit by a serious earthquake - above a magnitude 6 - within the next 50 years.
"This is an earthquake-prone country, with respect to the fact that earthquakes have occurred here in the past and some were quite disastrous," Shapira said, pointing out an earthquake in 1927 that caused casualties and serious damage in Jerusalem, Jaffa, Jericho and Nablus. An earthquake in 1837 hit northern Palestine, devastating the town of Safed and leaving thousands dead.
"The Turkish earthquake was a wake-up call to Israel," Shapira said.
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