Israeli government ministers focused on the country’s ability to deal with a catastrophic earthquake on Wednesday in the first meeting of the Ministerial Committee on Civilian Sector Preparedness for Emergency Situations, convened by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The State of Israel is located on the Syrian-African Rift, a high-risk region for earthquakes.
“We have places that are destined for trouble,” the prime minister noted in his opening remarks. Israel will hold a major earthquake preparedness exercise in November, he announced.
“We are now relating to two main items: One, is to issue warnings and directives to the public on what to do in the event of an earthquake. Second, is to carry out preventive action by reinforcing structures in the most dangerous places.”
The committee established a director generals committee to deal with the issue, while the Preparedness Committee, led by Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and participating ministers, will move forward as well. “I will also personally be involved,” Netanyahu pledged.
“The main thing is to prepare the State of Israel for earthquakes and other mishaps. We believe that with proper preparations we will greatly reduce the damage and the price we will pay. We will do it and we will succeed.”
Gallant noted in separate remarks that Israel has some “tens of thousands of structures that we need to address so that in emergencies, people will not become trapped in them, Heaven forbid, in daytime or at night.
“The Defense Ministry, together with all the other agencies, knows how to do the work, and we will do what is necessary. I hope that we will make progress. This is good news for the citizens of Israel after many years in which the issue was not dealt with,” the defense minister added.
This past February, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck southern and central Turkey and northern and western Syria, swiftly followed by a 7.7-magnitude earthquake about 95 kilometers (59 miles) from the original epicenter near Ganziatep and Antakya.
The quakes were felt as far south as Israel and Egypt.
There were more than 30,000 aftershocks in the first three months following the initial earthquakes.
Tens of thousands of people died in the temblors, and an estimated 1.5 million people were left homeless, according to the United Nations.
The damage spanned an area of about 350,000 square kilometers (140,000 square miles), affecting an estimated total of 14 million people — 16 percent of Turkey’s population. Damaged roads, winter storms, and disruption to communications hampered Turkish rescue and relief efforts by a 60,000-strong search-and-rescue force, 5,000 health workers and 30,000 volunteers.
Israel was among the first to respond to a call for international assistance; ultimately, more than 141,000 people from 94 nations joined the effort.
