Government approves post-disaster reconstruction plan
According to the Prime Minister's Office, the next earthquake is not a question of if, but when.
The Government on Wednesday unanimously approved Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's proposal to adopt the main points of the report on long-term rebuilding following earthquakes and to establish an organizational infrastructure for long-term rebuilding following disasters.
Strong earthquakes occur in our region, on average, once every 100 years. The last significant earthquake in the Land of Israel was in 1927. According to the Prime Minister's Office, the next earthquake is not a question of if, but when.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated: "I welcome the approval of the precedent-setting plan, on a global scale, that deals with the stages of immediate and long-term rebuilding in the event of earthquake disasters in the State of Israel, as well as emergency events such as wars, pandemics or fires. Today we see how important this work is. The product of its efforts serves us in the rebuilding plan for the Tekuma region and the plan being formulated for the north."
Prime Minister's Office Director-General Yossi Shelley added: "The report that the Government approved today, which deals with long-term rebuilding after earthquakes and disaster events, is comprehensive and thorough, precedent-setting on a global scale; its importance stems from the Government's ability to optimally prepare for the rebuilding stages after disaster events such as strong earthquakes. The plan includes a series of recommendations and solutions in a range of relevant fields, and we are, in effect, already implementing the recommendations of the report in the rebuilding plans for the Western Negev and the north."