Dateline Jerusalem – Living through an earthquake can be a scary experience.  California is awaiting the Big One, long overdue. I used to be able to view the San Andreas Fault from my living room window. Israel also is awaiting its big one.  The major difference is that tall buildings in California must be made earthquake proof. In Israel, most buildings are made of stone and cement, which probably will crumble. 

I was a student at UCLA, living on the 10th floor of a 15-story dormitory when the Sylmar quake hit the Los Angeles area early in the morning over 40 years ago.  The dorm building was specially constructed for quakes. When the building swayed, the steel actually separated. The higher up, the greater the swaying.  I was rudely awakened at the time. The shaking was so great my bed went from one side of my dorm room to the other – with me in it! 

Ever since, I have been frightened of earthquakes. I keep emergency supplies in my car, in my office, in almost every room in my home.  I even refused to take a job that required me to travel away from my children on a daily basis, for fear that the freeway overpass would collapse during a quake.  Sure enough, it did during another quake years later.

When I traveled to New York several years ago, I thought I felt the ground beneath me shake. I told people there was an earthquake. They thought I was crazy.  They told me that New York does not have earthquakes.  Sure enough, the news that evening mentioned there had been a small quake with its epicenter under the Mayor's mansion.  I know a quake when I feel one.

Then I moved to Israel. Quakes seemed to follow me.  Within months of my arrival six years ago, there were two small quakes, but large enough for me to feel them.  I keep earthquake supplies here as well.  Only their purpose is not solely for quakes.  They are my emergency supplies because they also include a gas mask in case of attack our unfriendly Arab neighbors.

There Is a Difference

Unlike California, where the homes are made of wood that gives during a quake, Israeli homes and apartments are constructed from cement blocks and stone.  Many are built on stilts or cement pillars.  They do not look strong enough to withstand a little tremor, let alone a major quake.  For example, in Tsfat (Safed), the entire town was buried under rubble in 1837 and rebuilt.  Over 5000 people lost their lives.  Many buildings in the Middle East are built similarly today. Sure enough, when there have been huge quakes, the buildings collapse and crumble, trapping their inhabitants underneath.  That is often why the casualties are great in number.

The last major earthquake in Israel was in 1927, occurring every 80 years.  The epicenter was in the Dead Sea.  Because Israel is so small, almost all of Israel experiences the quakes when they occur.  The longer the time between quakes, the greater the magnitude. Although there are new building codes taking into consideration earthquakes, most buildings are not reinforced because they were constructed before the codes came into effect.  

Wishing everyone in California and Israel an earthquake-free life.

L’hitraot, Shachar