Statistically speaking, Israel is likely to experience an earthquake of similar magnitude to the one that hit Haiti sometime in the next 50 years.
“We know for certain that it will happen in Israel and we know that as time goes on, the chances of it taking place in our lifetimes is greater,” said Avi Shapira, the head of the government steering committee for earthquake preparedness.
The last major earthquake to occur in the region was a 6.2 magnitude quake, which took place 60 miles south of Eilat in 1995. The last fatal earthquake took place in 1927 and was also measured at 6.2 on the Richter scale. Nearly 500 people were killed. Haiti’s quake was measured at 7.0 on the Richter scale.
Israel’s eastern border runs along one of the world’s seismic hotspots, the Syrian-African rift fault line. With the average time span between major earthquakes standing at 80 years, geology experts agree that Israel is long overdue for the next big one — and that it could happen at any time.
This poses a significant threat to population centers in the country, since many buildings in Israel were erected before 1980, when stricter earthquake-resistant building codes were established.
Tama 38, a national readiness program approved in 2005, authorizes renovation permits to buildings that were approved prior to 1980. The idea behind the program is that by giving building owners incentives in terms of tax breaks on renovations or adding apartments, the owners will improve the building’s resistance to earthquakes.
Many older buildings in Israel are built on columns, which geologists say are an obvious hazard.
Apart from Tama 38, which is meant to reduce the damage caused by earthquakes, emergency services are all trained to respond in a case of a major earthquake.
If such a quake takes place, primary responsibility will be granted to the Israel Defense Force’s Home Front Command.