Documentation of the earthquake in Kibbutz Ashdot Yaakov in the Jordan Valley
Only 12 hours ago, the earthquakes in the north of the country were felt yesterday and today (Sunday). Following the earthquakes, there was an afternoon police commissioner Kobi Shabtai and a telephone call with all police command staff, instructing to refresh all orders, guidelines and procedures related to an emergency, as well as sharpen the division of powers and treatment among all other parties involved.
According to experts, Israel is one of the countries where tectonic activity increases the chance of earthquakes. The director of the Geological Survey, Professor Zohar Gvirtzman, explains that the tectonic plates below the surface are spread over an area of thousands of kilometers and about 100 km thick: “There are about twenty plates on Earth. They move frequently and the friction between them creates the vibrations. “Our region has the boards of Africa and Eurasia, and we are located on the Syrian-African rift.”
Meanwhile, the chairman of the committee in charge of Tiberias, Boaz Yosef, felt the quake in his office today, saying today that he has been calling for help from the Israeli government for a long time, but unfortunately does not cooperate or find a solution. In Tiberias to prevent a disaster, “he said.
He referred to the two earthquakes that have been felt in the city since last night and said: “Tiberias is on the Syrian-African fault line and there are dozens of old buildings in the city that were built before the earthquake standard. Therefore, they are in tangible danger of collapse. We do not win cooperation or find a solution. ”
He said, “The Israeli government must get into the thick of things and take immediate action to strengthen the buildings in Tiberias. This is a large investment that requires a government decision, before it is too late. There are more than 60 families living in buildings built right on the fault line.” “Killed. Action must be taken immediately – human life is not no man’s land.”
Following the two earthquakes that were felt in Tiberias last night near midnight and today in the early afternoon, the municipal hotline of the Tiberias municipality was flooded with a wave of inquiries from city residents, who reported fears of relocation in the buildings in which they live. Municipal Chief of Staff Ami Vaknin and Deputy City Engineer Elram Halfon toured the various centers and closely examined the residents’ complaints.
The deputy engineer also toured the apartments in the buildings and closely examined the places where the seam of the buildings exists and other places that the residents pointed out.
The chairman of the committee, Boaz Yosef, was in constant contact with representatives of the municipality in the field and also spoke with the Home Front Command, from whom he urgently asked to send engineers and professionals, who will move tomorrow between the various centers reported by the residents and conduct more comprehensive inspections.
As you may recall, today at 12:28 a magnitude 3.5 earthquake occurred and it was felt well in Afula, Haifa, Nazareth, the Jordan Valley and Gilboa. According to the Geological Survey, the epicenter was 16 kilometers southeast of Tiberias. And another quake was felt yesterday at 23:36, mainly in the northern region, with a magnitude of 3.7, and occurred in the Jordan Valley, 16 kilometers northeast of Beit She’an. Occasionally there were aftershocks, but their magnitude was less than two degrees. By the grace of God, no casualties or damage were reported in all cases.