State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman referred today (Monday, 6.2.23) to the earthquakes which had struck Turkey and Syria. In a lecture before 12th grade students at the "Katzir" high school in Rehovot, which he hosted at the Office of the State Comptroller in Jerusalem, Englman spoke about the readiness of the State of Israel for similar earthquakes in the country.
According to him, "Hundreds of fatalities and thousands of injured is a terrible disaster, and beyond expressing our condolences, we must make ourselves ready in the event of such an earthquake here in Israel. Today many people in Israel felt the earthquake, and perhaps this is the very last minute for making the proper preparations in order to prevent a disaster on such a scale here. Instead of waiting for a post-disaster investigative committee, the government must act to be prepared before a disaster.
During the past year we have been conducting an audit on the preparedness for earthquakes by five local authorities located in the Great Rift Valley and accordingly they are in much greater danger. The authorities in question are Beit She'an, Tiberias, Zefat, Kiryat Shmona and Hatzor HaGlilit.
In these places we have already published previous reports stating that in the peripheral areas, which are close to the rift lines prone to earthquakes and consequently severe damages, Tama 38 has hardly been implemented at all and another action is required on the part of the government in order to prepare them for earthquakes.
Apart from the authorities we are also examining the actions performed at the various government ministries, with the emphasis on the Ministry of Interior, the Survey of Israel, the National Steering Committee for Earthquake Preparedness.
In a few months the audit report is due to be published to the public, after its preparation process has been completed. In the audit we examine, among other things, the preparedness from the aspect of the public infrastructures; public structures; private structures and preparing the population how to act during an earthquake. Likewise, we examine the authorities' preparedness for "the day after" by means of setting up an emergency and organizational framework with equipment and resources.
Five years ago, an audit report was published in the matter which raised many defects. Last year we also published a report on dangerous structures, which states that there are more than 600,000 structures in Israel which do not comply with the standard for earthquake resistance. These apartments are in danger of collapse in the event of an earthquake occurring here.
I call upon the Ministers of Interior and Construction and Housing - do not wait until such a disaster occurs in Israel. Act immediately to prepare the state for earthquakes".