Israel prepares for the worst with two major drills
Israel prepares for the worst with two major drills | The Times of Israel.
Country’s first earthquake preparedness drill takes place alongside largest-ever joint military exercise with US
Israel’s security forces will be tested rigorously in the upcoming days as they take part in two major drills aimed to test their ability to face both natural disasters and war.
The largest-ever joint Israeli and American military drill was set to begin on Sunday at the same time that the country’s emergency services will be participating in the first-ever earthquake preparedness drill.
In Austere Challenge 12, a total of 3,500 American and Israeli troops were set to take part in a month-long air defense simulation exercise. The drill will run until after the US presidential elections on November 6 and will simulate many of the aerial threats that Israel faces: a multi-front attack with mortars, rockets, drones, and short and long range ballistic missiles.
The David’s Sling short range missile protection system will be tested along with multiple Iron Dome batteries, advanced Patriot batteries and Arrow 2, Israel’s medium range missile defense system. Most of the action will be simulated with only a small component of live fire.
The drill will cost some $30 million per side.
The drill starts amid a cooling of talk of a possible military strike on Iran, after several months of saber rattling.
Generals from both armies stressed that the exercise is meant to reflect reality in the Middle East and is “not related to any specific world events.”
The drill, originally slated to take place months ago, was postponed at Israel’s behest.
Despite reports that the drill had been cut back by thousands of troops, Third Air Force Commander Lt. Gen. Craig Franklin said last week that the “scale of the exercise and the number of forces participating has remained unchanged.”
The earthquake preparedness exercise beginning Sunday, Turning Point 6, will include a scripted simulation of an earthquake and a tsunami, aimed at raising the preparedness of the citizens, local authorities, and emergency services for dealing with natural disasters.
According to the script, an earthquake of moderate magnitude (measuring 5.6 on the Richter scale) will be “felt” Sunday at 11 a.m. in southern Israel, near Eilat. Thirty minutes later, a stronger earthquake — 7.1 on the Richter scale — will hit the Upper Galilee. At noon, shortly following a tsunami warning, citizens will be required to imagine a giant wave crashing against the shores of Israel, causing heavy destruction in Tel Aviv.
The drill will include television and radio broadcasts interrupting scheduled programming to urge citizens to rush to open spaces wherever possible. Alternatives include finding sheltered rooms and standing under door frames.
The drill will continue in the Hula Valley area, where a tremor measuring 4.2 on the Richter scale will be enacted at 7 p.m.
Schoolchildren across the country will participate in enactments in their schools.
According to Home Front estimations, a real-life occurrence of the above scenario would lead to 7,000 deaths, 8,600 people injured in serious condition, 37,000 injured lightly, 9,500 trapped under rubble and about 170,000 displaced and homeless. In addition, 28,000 buildings are expected to be heavily damaged, with hundreds of thousands of buildings expected to incur light damage.
The prognosis is grimmer yet for the Dan region, where some 95,000 buildings — including 300 schools — could collapse in the event of an earthquake of a magnitude of 7 or higher on the Richter scale. According to the Home Front Command, 70 percent of buildings in the area — which houses about 42 percent of Israel’s population — do not meet the earthquake resistance standards set in 1980, as they were constructed prior to that year.
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