Israel was hit by yet another minor earthquake on Wednesday evening at about 9 p.m., less than 24 hours after two previous earthquakes hit earlier on Wednesday at about 5 pm. and on Tuesday night after 11 p.m.

The earthquake measured 3.9 on the Richter scale and was mainly felt in the north. Israel’s Geological Survey later stated that the quake was centered in Lebanon.

A Kiryat Ata resident told Ynet that she “felt the third earthquake on her birthday. It was very scary. The last few days are disturbing and frightening. Israel is unfortunately not ready for a stronger earthquake.”

Shelly Levi, a resident of Netanya – situated on the coast between Haifa and Tel Aviv – told World Israel News: “At about 3:30 a.m. Tuesday, I  felt the bed shake. I didn’t initially think it was an earthquake for a few reasons. Earthquakes aren’t common in Israel, so that possibility simply didn’t come to my mind. Storm Barbara was happening at the same time as the quake, and with the winds that reached 100 kilometers per hour in some cities in Israel, I mistakenly thought the feeling of the building swaying was related to those gusts. I then turned on the light and saw my ceiling lamp swinging, and finally understood that it was an earthquake.

“About nine hours later, at 12:30 p.m., I felt my apartment building swaying again, and the door to my bedroom was swinging open and closed. There was a sensation almost like being on a boat, and I felt intense motion sickness for several hours afterward. It really threw me off balance.”

“It sounds dramatic,” Levi continued, “but after seeing the photos of the destruction in Turkey and Syria, I’m nervous now. Luckily, I live in a building that was built about 10 years ago, but I can imagine that many older buildings – especially those in the Tel Aviv area that aren’t well-maintained – wouldn’t be able to survive.

“It also feels like the earthquakes are getting closer and closer, traveling south from the Turkey/Syria area, and the fact that there have been three in just a few day span worries me.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)