Building structures in Israel are not prepared for strong earthquake
Posted on 28. Jan, 2010 by Buy-It In Israel Staff in Israel Real Estate
A home destroyed by earthquake. ©iStockphoto.com/Ranieri Meloni
The Association of Contractors & Builders warned this week that structures and homes in Israel are ill-prepared in the event of a destructive earthquake taking place since the government’s program for reinforcing buildings, including hospitals, schools and kindergartens, is inadequate and financially infeasible .
In the wake of the recent earthquake in Haiti, the association said that the repercussions of a strong earthquake hitting Israel would be similar. In an appeal to the government to make the necessary changes to Israel’s current building codes for reinforcing structures, the association estimated that a million homes and hundreds of public buildings could be destroyed should a destructive earthquake hit the country. In a position paper presented to a parliamentary committee this week, contractors and builders are urging Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu to act swiftly together with the Interior Minister and other relevant ministries to make significant changes to the preparations for an earthquake both in the public sector through long-term investment allocations and in the private sector through basic changes to the current building codes.
Israel is located in an area prone to earthquakes as a result of its close proximity to the Syrian-African fault line which borders Israel in the east and runs along the Jordan Valley, through the Dead Sea, the Arava, to the Red Sea and beyond. Experts estimate that a destructive earthquake takes place in Israel once every 80 years. The last big earthquake which hit Israel, with a magnitude of 6.2 on the Richter scale, occurred in 1927 and led to the death and injuries of hundreds of people. The effects of the earthquake were felt in Jerusalem, Nablus, Jericho, Ramle and Tiberias.
Preparations by the public sector for the event of a strong earthquake do not exist, while Israel has instituted the so-called National Outline Plan 38, or Tama 38, a national readiness program including building codes for the reinforcement of structures, since many buildings in Israel were erected prior to the formulation of earthquake-resistant construction codes.
Tama 38 is an incentive program which grants renovation permits to Israel homeowners living in pre-1980 buildings, after which strict building codes were established. The motivation behind the program is that by giving homeowners incentives, such as extra building rights for the additions of balconies, elevators; or tax breaks on renovations, owners will be prepared to improve the building’s resistance to earthquakes. One of the ways in which a building can be strengthened is by enclosing its first floor. Many older buildings in Israel are built on columns, which geologists say are an obvious hazard. Another is by installing an elevator shaft, which adds strength and stability to older buildings.
The program for reinforcing buildings, was planned to be implemented especially in towns situated in high-risk areas, but the question is whether it has been promoted sufficiently, is economically viable, and has been strictly enforced. In Israel building regulations are issued at a national level by the Interior Minister, but the responsibility for enforcement lies with local authorities.
According to the builders association, Tama 38, which was approved in 2005, has not provided the necessary answer to the problem. Until now only very few of the older buildings have been made resistant to earthquakes out of tens of thousands across the country. The buildings, which have undergone reinforcement, are located mainly in the Center of the country only, while in more earthquake prone areas such as Beit Sha’an, Tiberias, Kiryat Shmona, Arad, Jerusalem, and Eilat none of the buildings applied the Tama 38 program.
Contractors and builders said that the main reason Tama 38 is not being implemented is the problem of economic viability. In addition to the lack of financial feasibility in some of the projects, other reasons that Tama 38 has not been instituted as expected, is the lack of agreement needed from the tenants. Tenants of a building need a majority of 66% of the tenants to begin to implement Tama 38.
To counter the problem of financial viability, the association is suggesting that under the Tama 38 program contractors and builders would get additional building entitlements in new projects in Israel, which could reduce the cost of reinforcement by 50%. For example the enforcement of buildings in Beit Sha’an or Tiberias in exchange for entitlements in Israel real estate projects in cities in the Center of the country such as Rehovot or Rishon Letzion.
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