At an earthquake preparedness exercise Wednesday morning in Akko, Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai called on Israel to be prepared to handle any situation. "I remind you of the earthquake that hit us in October 1973. We cannot make do simply with the fighting spirit of the people in the area, but rather we need to be prepared and trained to handle difficult situations; instances where local authorities have to function independently for long days," said Vilnai.
 
"Yesterday I visited Tzfat (Safed) and Tiberias and was glad to see a much better preparation than in the [2006 Lebanon] war. We must be prepared for any possible scenario, not only military but also natural disasters like earthquakes,” he said.