After a series of Galilee area earthquakes in October, tremors shake the region again. ‘We felt the ground moving,’ residents said, but is Israel prepared?

By Michal Margalit

A light earthquake was felt Monday afternoon in the Upper Galilee. Director of the Geophysical Institute of Israel, Dr. Uri Frieslander, reported that magnitude of the quake was 3.5 on the Richter scale.

3.5 on Richter scale — Photo: Reuters

The epicenter was documented in the area of Almagor, north of the Sea of Galilee.

Shortly after 3:00 pm, the quake was felt in the area of the Sea of Galilee and Upper Galilee. Residents of the area reported to Ynet about the tremor.

Daniel Lachman, a resident of the area, told Ynet: “At 3:03 pm the entire house and furniture moved for about three seconds. We felt the ground moving. I heard the neighbors’ children scream for several seconds. We felt the previous tremors here as well.”

Shosh Salame of nearby city of Kiryat Shemona added: “I sat in front of the computer and felt I was pushed. I asked the neighbor, because I thought that someone is knocking on my door. It lasted for a few seconds.”

Another earthquake of a similar magnitude was felt in the area of south Mount Hebron a month ago, about 10 kilometers north of the city of Arad. According to the Geophysical Institute, the tremor did not cause harm or damage.

It was reported back in October that five different tremors were felt in the vicinity of the Sea of Galilee within one week. The last quake was of a magnitude of 3.3, and the other four ranged between 3.3 and 3.6. There were no injuries or damage in any of the events.

Last September, a 3.5 tremor was felt in Jerusalem, the Geophysical Institute said its epicenter was the northern Dead Sea, some 30 km away from the capital. In this case, no injuries are damage were reported.

“Either nothing will happen or there will an earthquake of much larger magnitude,” said Dr. Avi Shapira, chairman of the inter-ministerial steering committee for earthquake preparation.

“A very frequent occurrence of earthquakes is rare but it’s not impossible. It means that the region is unstable and in the process of rifting.”

View original Ynet publication at: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4476409,00.html