'Palestine not equipped to face possible earthquakes'

An earthquake that measured 5.2 magnitude hit Palestine on June 27. This earthquake was one of hundreds that had been tracked by earthquake detectors in the region since the beginning of the year, which prompted experts to renew their calls for increasing preparations to face a possible earthquake. Studies indicate that Palestine, which is situated in a seismically active region, would be greatly affected by a strong earthquake. The lack of planning and proper infrastructure as well as the country's weak capacities means that a large earthquake could have disastrous results on the population and buildings.

The Al-monitor reports on Palestine's activities to reduce earthquake threats in the country through the SASPARM-European FP7 project, which is being implemented in cooperation with several international organizations that work in the same field. This project aims at promoting government and community capacities in facing earthquakes.

Palestine "has come a long way in amending the laws governing the construction system to resist earthquakes," director of the Earth Sciences and Seismic Engineering Center told Al-Monitor. As of June, the Syndicate of Engineers has called for designing public and private buildings in a way that is resistant to earthquakes. "The buildings that are designed and constructed are being directly monitored to check if they comply…the cost difference compared with regular buildings was only 5%." Also, the Head of the National Committee for DRR has called to make disaster management a national budget priority.