(March 12, 2023 / JNS) Israel on Sunday kicked off a four-day international exercise simulating receiving foreign aid in the event of a major earthquake.
The drill will simulate all necessary emergency proceduresincluding the initial decision to request international aid, the integration of foreign rescue teams, the receipt of aid and its distribution.
The exercise is led by the Israeli Defense Ministry’s National Emergency Management Authority, in cooperation with local emergency and rescue services. Some 120 people from 17 countries are taking part, including teams from Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Latvia, Macedonia, Malta, Montenegro, Romania, Spain and Sweden, as well as from the European Union and the United Nations.
The teams will also simulate scenarios related to search and rescue operations.evacuation drills and damage assessment processes.
“The National Emergency Management Authority has designated 2023 as the year to focus on improving national earthquake preparedness, and the devastating earthquake in Turkey further highlights the challenges we face,” said Brig-Gen (res.) of the IDF Yoram Laredo, director of the National Emergency Management Authority.
“The appreciated cooperation with our partners abroad is a crucial element in achieving this and enhances the ability of the State of Israel to receive extensive humanitarian assistance in emergency situations,” he added.
Turkey was hit by a pair of massive earthquakes on February 6 which, along with hundreds of aftershocks, They left more than 40,000 dead in what the World Health Organization has described as the worst natural disaster in the region in a century.
In response to the deadly earthquakes on February 6, the Israel Defense Forces launched “Operation Olive Branches” in Turkey, which rescued 19 people from the rubble. The delegation of more than 400 Israeli soldiers was supported by specialists in medical emergencies from the ministries of Defense and Health, the fire and rescue services, Magen David Adom, United Hatzalah and Zaka, among others.
Israel has rushed to improve its earthquake preparedness in the aftermath of the Turkey disaster, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the head of the National Security Council, Tzachi Hanegbi, to “update and reiterate the steps we must take.”
The Knesset Home Affairs and Environment Committee called an emergency meeting, and State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman urged the government not to delay, stating that the surge of deadly earthquakes in the region should be seen as a warning.
Experts have stressed that Israel’s current state of preparedness for earthquakes is worrying. A 2018 report by the former comptroller estimated that a major earthquake could cause 7,000 casualties and leave 170,000 homeless. A report last year found that 600,000 buildings in the country do not meet the earthquake resistance standard.
Israel is located along the Great Rift Valley, an active geological fault line that presents several significant hazards to the area, including frequent minor earthquakes and the possibility of more serious seismic events.
Israel has a long history of earthquakes, with a major one every 100 years or so.. The last great earthquake that shook the country was in 1927. That earthquake, of magnitude 6.2, claimed 284 lives and caused 940 injuries.