In the case of an earthquake, it's better not to be in Safed - Haaretz

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Thu., December 06, 2007 Kislev 26, 5768

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In the case of an earthquake, it's better not to be in Safed

By Ofri Ilani

Tags: Safed, Israel, earthquake

Ancient cities built on the ruins of settlements from eras past are likely to suffer severe damaged from a strong earthquake, cautions a study conducted in Safed by researchers from the Geological Survey of Israel (GSI).

The study, by geologists Oded Katz and Onn Crouvi, checked the severity of damage likely to occur in the older area of Safed, which was built on a slope. The pair found that given the existing conditions, during an earthquake the slope could shift: the earth and rocks on the side of the mountain could shift and slide downward. When this happens on a slope with developed infrastructure, it can cause particularly severe damage. The city of Safed has been settled for more than 2,000 years. Over the last few centuries, two strong earthquakes caused widespread destruction in the city, in 1759 and 1837.

"The Jewish Quarter is located on a very steep slope, and the homes are not built on rock but on an archaeological tel, landfill, building fragments and construction scrap from previous eras," Katz said. "These conditions would enable a landslide and therefore we are concerned that during high-magnitude earthquake, there would be extensive destruction and many casualties. In Israel, Safed will be most severely damaged.

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"In Safed, you see that the slope is creeping; there are cracks and pipes that have been broken. During an earthquake, the situation would be even worse."

However, the problem uncovered in the research does not apply only to Safed. In Israel and other countries in the region, several cities, which have been built and grown over thousands of years, rely on the unstable infrastructure of earlier strata.

"In such cities, the destruction is always greater, and it is possible that this is the explanation for the great destruction that occurred in historic earthquakes, even if they weren't of a high magnitude," Katz said.

Such conditions are present in Jerusalem, Tiberias, Nablus and Amman, among others. However, not all ancient cities are built on slopes as Safed is, and therefore the damage incurred by them is likely to be less severe. As far as Jerusalem is concerned, Katz said that "most of the city is built on bedrock, therefore its situation is better. In the Old City, there is stratification, but the inclines there are, for the most part, not very steep."

Katz and Crouvi's study was published in the journal Engineering Geology. The pair are checking the threat of shifting slopes in other Israeli cities.

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