A mild earthquake, measuring 4.0 on the Richter Scale, was felt throughout Israel Sunday morning, the fourth quake to be registered in the country in the last two weeks. The tremors were felt in Jerusalem, the Coastal plain and in the epicenter, the Dead Sea. Last Saturday, a 4.1 magnitude earthquake hit just after midnight eminating from Israel's plains area, with no injuries or damage being reported.
Earlier the previous week, two more earthquakes, measuring 3 and 4.2 on the Richter scale, caused no damage or injuries.
Israel recently appointed one of Israel's top seismologists to chair Israel's earthquake preparedness steering committee. The committee has been without a chair for over a year. Analysts speculate that the recent earthquakes have caused renewed concern that Israel will face a more serious earthquake in the near future.
Minister of National Infrastructures Benjamin Ben-Eliezer is expected to request NIS 5 billion from the cabinet to strengthen buildings against earthquakes, including schools, hospitals and kindergartens.