The Daily Star: Deadly megaquake on Lebanon’s horizon

"The one thing we are sure about is that major earthquakes will happen again in this country. We know that not only the country but the entire region – Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria – is going to witness major earthquakes soon, because the cycle of earthquakes on the major fault line that passes through this country, is now active,” warns Ata Elias, assistant professor of geology at the American University of Beirut.

According to The Daily Star experts question whether seismic resistance of buildings and emergency preparedness in Lebanon are adequate. Their advice is to raise public awareness, build capacity of experts and to establish a coordination of government ministrations and first responders.

A cooperation unit of 246 municipalities is working on a hazard mapping project to assess earthquake, forest fire, tsunami, flood and landslide events and make recommendations for the national strategy.