'Major earthquake in Israel a matter of
time'
GII picks up two small earthquakes in Jordan rift valley area over
past few days. Study shows major quake is pending
Roee Nahmias
A 3.0 magnitude earthquake struck the Jordan rift valley area. The
Geophysical Institute of Israel noted the seismic activity around
6pm Saturday. The Jordan rift valley is in close proximity to the
volatile Syrian-African Rift.
Rami Hofstetter, head of the Geophysical Institute of Israel told
Ynet that "our instruments picked up two small quakes in the area
over the last few days the first one registering at 2.9 and the
second of a 2.5 magnitude."
Shmuel Marko of the Department of Environmental Sciences and
Geophysics in Tel Aviv University and Oded Katz of the GII, have
recently published a new study, saying a major earthquake is
heading Israel's way.
Past data, said the two, proves that such a quake is just a matter
of time. "We know that the area between the Kinneret and the Dead
Sea was subject to several large quakes, in 31BC, 362BC, 749BC and
1033AD. Another major one is coming soon."
Hofstetter seemed unfazed by Marko and Katz's study. "Saying Israel
will be subject to a major earthquake is like saying the sun will
rise tomorrow. A major quake in on the way," he said. "We just
don't know where it's going to hit."