The Reality of Earthquakes in Israel

The Great Rift

Like New-Zealand, California and other regions in the world, Israel is also located in a very unstable geological zone, the Great Rift. It is one of the longest rifts in the world at 6,000 km it starts in northern Syria and ends in eastern Africa in central Mozambique.

The Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea are at the heart of the Great Rift and the movements of the tectonic plates around it have made the Dead Sea the lowest place on earth – 424 meters below sea level. The Red Sea is also in the heart of the Great Rift, the depth of the water in some locations is 2,500 meters from a distance of only 4 km from shore.

Earthquakes in Israel

The unstable geological region has experienced many earthquakes throughout history. Earthquakes are mentioned in the bible and are also recorded in medieval periods in the land of Israel.

In 1927, a strong earthquake hit the region when Israel was still under the British Mandate. Over 500 people died, most of them in the city of Shechem and its surrounding. Damages to the infrastructures were all over the region.

Statistics show that Israel is hit by constant earthquakes. Most of them cause little to no damage and casualties are very uncommon. However, statistics also tell us that approximately every 80 years the region is hit by a significant earthquake, and as mentioned, that last time was in 1927.

Since the last major earthquake, the region has dramatically changed, from a population of less than one million to over eight million. Most Israelis live in buildings and in crowded cities like the Tel-Aviv metropolitan, Jerusalem, Haifa and Beer-Sheba.

The massive Aliyah to Israel during its early years created immense construction with little attention paid to earthquakes and their consequences.

Israel is not prepared

Recent world earthquakes have forced the Israeli leadership to consider actions in order to reduce the number of casualties and the damages if, and when, a strong earthquake will occur.

By 1975 Israel approved building standard that meet the requirements of earthquake damage resistance. However, most of the structures that were built in Israel before 1980 do not meet those requirements.

A civil engineering report said that in case of a strong earthquake there is a real possibility that tens of thousands of building and structures will collapse. The worst case scenarios estimate nearly 100,000 deaths and over a million homeless people.

TAMA 38

It’s the Hebrew initials for the State of Israel’s plan to strengthen structures in the country that were not built with accordance to earthquake standards. It was approved on April 14th, 2005 by the Israeli government. Tama 38 is encouraging condos and house owners and builders to invest in their own developments. If the property infrastructure is strengthened according to the earthquake standards, then the owner/builder is allowed to get benefits such as extra space for the condos, extra balcony space, add an elevator or get extra parking.

It has been almost six years since the approval and very little has been done. Whether it’s bureaucracy, lack of interest by the population or negligence, the fact is that most of the structures in Israel are not prepared for a strong earthquake. The current situation is a time bomb.

What to do?

The possible damage to Israel from a strong earthquake is worse than most large scale war scenarios. The Israeli government should put Tama 38 as number one priority and take all necessary means to encourage the Israeli citizens to take actions and prepare their homes for a strong earthquakes. If necessary, it should be enforced as a law.

Summary

Israel is not prepared for a strong earthquake. The engineering solution is there and should be adopted by the Israel. The Tama 38 solution should be encouraged and imposed by the government. Unless the solution is implemented, Israel will find itself at some point in the future facing its greatest natural disaster ever.