3.7 earthquake hits Sea of Galilee and surrounding area
Dozens of tremors have been felt around northern Israel in recent weeks.
By JULIANE HELMHOLDMap of Israeli marks out higher and lower risk areas in face of an earthquake(photo credit: COURTESY OF THE STATE COMPTROLLER'S OFFICE)
An earthquake measuring 3.7 on the Richter scale was felt in the area of the Sea of Galilee according to the Geophysical Institute of Israel on Friday at 11:52.At first, the earthquake was estimated to measure 4.2 but these reports were later corrected.Dozens of tremors have been felt around northern Israel in recent weeks.Experts in the field believe that the occurrence of a strong earthquake is almost certain and that its impact on various regions of the country will be enormous.The State Comptroller’s Office stated that according to information received by the government, the situation it needs to prepare for could result in an estimated 7,000 people killed, another 8,600 seriously injured, 37,000 lightly injured, 9,500 trapped in rubble and 170,000 left homeless.The office conducted an audit between July 2017 and February 2018 of the relevant ministries’ and authorities’ readiness in the face of earthquakes, focusing on a major one. Completion tests were conducted in May.Tamara Zieve contributed to this report.
