Israeli Scientists Warn of Large Earthquake In North
In biblical times, earthquakes represented the fire and brimstone that swallowed Sodom and Gomorrah and, with apologies to Joshua, probably brought down the walls of Jericho.
Now, thousands of years later, scientists and government officials are warning hospitals and emergency services in northern Israel to prepare themselves for the next big one.
A warning has gone out from Israel’s Ministry of Health for hospitals to restock essential equipment and test satellite phones in the wake of hundreds of minor earthquakes centred in southern Lebanon in the past three months.
“The probability of an earthquake of a magnitude of up to 6 on the Richter scale, originating in Lebanon and being felt in Israel has increased,” Health Ministry director-general Avi Yisraeli said in the letter.
Israel and the West Bank sit on the Dead Sea Transform rift, where the African and Arabian tectonic plates join and which is active almost daily, though most of the earthquakes are imperceptible.
Scientists say there is often little way to tell for certain whether an increase in small quakes is a warning of a larger tremor, but acknowledge this recent activity is unusual and say it does increase the likelihood of a strong quake.
