First day of disaster drill shows Israel unprepared for catastrophe

According to the Times of Israel, a major preparedness drill exposed significant shortcomings in Israel’s ability to respond to natural and man-made disasters. While the drill was aimed at raising the preparedness of citizens, local authorities, and emergency services for dealing with natural disasters, it revealed that the majority of buildings in the areas likely to be hit by earthquakes have not been properly reinforced to withstand earthquakes. Even a reasonably powerful earthquake in Israel would result in "damage to life and property on a much more significant scale" than in the scenario of war, said Home Front Command chief Maj-Gen Eyal Eisenberg.