In the past 24 hours, Israel has experienced two earthquakes measuring 3.7 on the Richter scale in the north of the country.
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The epicenter of the earthquake yesterday was about 19 kilometers northeast of Beit Shean. Today (Sunday), the second earthquake of the same intensity occurred, according to the Israel Geological Survey, 16 kilometers southeast of Tiberias.
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Zaki Levy, mayor of Beit Shean, warned this evening on Yaron Wilensky and Yaakov Bardugo on Galei Tzahal: "Everyone agrees that an earthquake will come, but no one is doing anything. The State of Israel will not know how to deal with an earthquake, the number of casualties will be crazy. The solution is actions, not talk - I need an immediate budget to strengthen buildings that are likely to collapse.".
Professor Shmuel Marko, from the Department of Geophysics at Tel Aviv University, explained in an interview with Suleiman Masvade on the 'Erev Erev' program on 'Kan News': "The last two earthquakes were 'good earthquakes,' which remind us that the area is active, but do not cause damage. There will undoubtedly be strong earthquakes in the future, because there have been such in the past and what has been will be.".
As part of Israel's earthquake preparedness, Professor Marco spoke about an early warning system for earthquakes, developed at Tel Aviv University. "The research has advanced a lot and we have reached a point where it is possible to establish an early warning system. The system is not yet operational, but the first signs are encouraging.".
Professor Marco's concern is not necessarily about the strong tremors that may come, which he says will cause thousands of casualties, but about the "moderate" tremors - which are measured at about 6.5.
He explained: "They are more worrisome because they are more frequent, the probability of them happening is higher. The last earthquake in the area of this magnitude was in 1927. It hit Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Amman.".
Experts who spoke to Israel Hayom explain whether it is possible to learn about a stronger earthquake that will occur soon.
The earthquake as captured by security cameras at a store in Kibbutz Ashdot Yaakov Meuchad@rubih67 pic.twitter.com/Nl66741k1r
— Here News (@kann_news) January 23, 2022
Seismologist Dr. Avi Shapira of the University of Haifa, former chairman of the steering committee for earthquake preparedness, says that this is a rare phenomenon, but not completely unknown.
""Two consecutive earthquakes in the same place are definitely a surprise and are relatively rare, although it is not something unknown in the world or in Israel. Israel as a country needs to be better prepared for earthquakes. I hope that when the stronger earthquake comes, we will be ready. In any case, such a quake will come, and at least for now we know that it causes damage because there is not enough preparation and protection in the Beit Shean area and the surrounding area.".
Are two earthquakes in the same place a sign of a stronger earthquake?
""No, this is not a telltale sign and it is impossible to predict when the expected strong earthquake will happen in Israel. In any case, what can be said is that there is a lot of energy in the ground in that place that it did not have time to release yesterday, which is why there was noise today as well.".
Prof. Moshe Inbar of the University of Haifa, an expert on natural disasters, says: "I know that throughout the north of the country, in Beit Shean, Hatzor HaGlilit, Tiberias, Kiryat Shmona and other localities, there has not been much progress in terms of TAMA 38, and this is very serious. All public buildings must be protected at the very least because a strong earthquake is expected in the country and this situation is worrying.".
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