State comptroller: Decisions on quake readiness not implemented
Days after major Chile earthquake State Control Committee convenes to discuss Israel's readiness for natural disasters. Lindenstrauss warns nearly nothing has been done to fix known impairments
Is Israel ready for an earthquake? Apparently not. State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss said Tuesday that despite previous warning reports, virtually nothing has been done to fix the impairments in order to prevent a large-scale disaster in case of an earthquake.
Speaking at State Control Committee debate, Lindenstrauss said that there have been three previous reports on the matter from several years ago. "The issue of an earthquake is one we must address.
"I think that previous reports issued by the state comptroller in recent years illustrate the great danger that Israeli citizens may face if God forbid an earthquake happens."
The state comptroller noted that a government decision was reached in December 2008 but was not implemented.
"The government decided to pass a multi-annual budget in the sum of NIS 3.5 billion ($930, 000 million) for the fortification of public buildings. To the best of our knowledge this was not implemented. " He further noted that importance must be given to the issue seeing as the phenomenon could "endanger tens of thousands of Israeli residents."
Committee chairman Knesset Member Yoel Hasson said, "As Israel's Knesset we have a responsibility to ensure that the State of Israel is preparing itself and taking the appropriate measures."
In a previous discussion Yaakov Bar-Lavi of the Survey of Israel center said that out of 650,000 buildings in the country, 96,000 residential buildings could collapse in case of a major earthquake.
