Construction and Housing Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf held a hearing today (Tuesday) to review the ministry's earthquake preparedness.
Following the earthquakes that struck Turkey and Syria, which were also felt in Israel, and as part of the state's earthquake assessments, the Minister of Construction and Housing and the director general of his office held a discussion in which the responsibilities of the office and its preparation for earthquakes were presented.
During the discussion, the minister was presented with all the activities related to preparing for earthquakes, starting from the prevention phase to the ministry's intervention in the secondary aid phases after the event.
Clearing the ruins in Turkey, photo: AP
On top of that, preventive plans promoted by the governmental authority for urban renewal through urban renewal projects across the country were presented.
Also, a draft was presented to the minister for a procedure for assistance in alternative housing in emergency situations, the purpose of which is to enable rapid assistance in emergency cases.
The minister instructed the professionals to promote the evaluations of the ministry in its areas of responsibility for earthquakes in all aspects, as an event that may happen in the immediate time frame.
Among other things, the director general of the ministry presented a variety of actions that are on the agenda as part of the routine of preventive assessments, among them: strengthening buildings owned by the ministry; promoting urban renewal projects through the pooling of resources from all parties; preparing for the establishment of emergency sites that will provide a response when needed; improving site data for post-assessments The event; training engineering teams to sort buildings; carrying out staff work to examine legislation to reduce the majority required to promote urban renewal projects in areas with high seismic sensitivity (Syrian-African fault).
Rescue efforts in Turkey, photo: AP
The Minister of Construction and Housing, Yitzhak Goldknopf, said: "The Ministry is currently assisting hundreds of thousands of families in a variety of ways, and is constantly working to strengthen buildings and promote urban renewal throughout the country. In addition to preventive actions, I instructed the professional teams to continue working in all the plains to prepare as optimally as possible for the situation in which an earthquake affects us God forbid".
The CEO of the ministry, Yehuda Morgenstern, added: "When I took office, I was introduced to the ministry's responsibilities and headquarters work on earthquake preparedness.
Following it, I instructed the professionals to integrate resources.
We are currently working on the accuracy of the budgetary requirements, so that we can act in an optimal and fast manner on this important issue."
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