The situation repeats itself following a disastrous earthquake somewhere in the world, the experts in Israel speaking out, warning a major earthquake here would leave catastrophic results, receiving media coverage for a number of days that result in statements calling for action, but in essence, not enough is done.
Following the catastrophic situation in Haiti, experts in Israel are warning a similar quake in Eretz Yisrael would topple 1 million apartments and thousands of public buildings are likely to collapse. Speaking to a subcommittee of the IDF Homefront Command dealing with earthquake preparedness, the nation’s union of contractors’ representatives painted a worrisome picture. They warn the earthquake building code plan called ‘Plan 38’ simply does not do what is must to address the real needs, to ensure a less tragic outcome in case of an earthquake.
Raul Sarugo, the vice president of the contractors union warns that following an earthquake, all will see they are correct and the blame will be squarely on the shoulders of Interior Ministry planning officials, who simply fail to see the shortcomings of Plan 38. “I call on Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to awaken and order the relevant government agencies to take appropriate action before it is too late”. Sarugo is demanding appropriate measures in both the public and private sectors to correct what may be improved and more importantly, for the future.
Painting a bleak picture, Sarugo stated with authority that a quake the size of the one which struck Haiti will leave tens of thousands of dead in Israel in addition to hundreds of thousands of homeless.
Just last week, Interior Minister Eli Yishai extended the validity of Plan 38 for private and public sector construction for another five years, a move that Sarugo warns could have disastrous results. He compared the plan to one giving Acamol (Acetaminophen) for cancer.
(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)
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7 Responses
Don’t expect most Israelis to jumb through hoops about this. The worst damage would be where the construction was illegal to begin with, and those people are the ones the Israelis government wouldn’t mourn (particularly, “us”).
Al Tiftach Peh Lasoton!
As a licensed structural engineer in the U.S., I know that — unlike in Haiti — most construction in Israel follows modern building codes. However, that is not a guarantee. Therefore, we must — collectively — repent and pray that such tragedies will never happen anywhere.
#3 – “Most”, but those codes are often ignored at least in the hareidi neighborhoods (someone sneaks in an extra floor, pays off the inspector, etc.).
On the bright side, Israel has been preparing for a massive war with horrendous civilian casulties, so they are more likely to be prepared for an earthquake. Also, unlike Haiti, the faults in Israel are well known and have been active.
“Enei Hashem Elokecha Bah!”
Eretz Yisrael has special divine protection, as was seen clearly 19 years ago this time during the first Gulf War and throughout many other wars.
We must have total bitachon in Hshyi”s.
A proper title would read “An earthquake would topple…”. “Will” is a prediction.
I don’t like your headline here.
What about “al tiftach pe l’satan”?