Credit: Tel Aviv University
A first-of-its-kind study conducted under the bed of the Dead Sea reveals that a devastating earthquake measuring 6.5 on the Richter scale is expected to hit our region in the coming years. The study showed that an earthquake of this magnitude occurs in the land of Israel on an average cycle of between 130 and 150 years, but there have been cases in history where the lull between one earthquake and another was only a few decades long.
The last earthquake with a magnitude of 6.5 on the Richter scale was felt in the Dead Sea valley in 1927, when hundreds of people were injured in Amman, Jerusalem, Bethlehem and even Jaffa. Now, in the wake of the findings of the study, the researchers are warning that another earthquake is very likely to occur in our lifetime, in the coming years or decades.
The team stated the earthquake could measure up to 6.5 on the Richter scale, which is strong enough to cause poorly built buildings to crumble and cause major damage to more sturdy structures.
The research found an earthquake on this level happens every 120-150 years on average, but there have been points where the lull in activity lasted just a matter of decades.
The last major earthquake to hit the Dead Sea was a 6.2 magnitude quake in 1927, which killed 500 people and injured more than700 in Amman in Jordan, Jerusalem, Bethlehem and the coastal city of Jaffa.
The Dead Sea is situated along the Syrian-African rift - a small tear in the Earth s crust running down the Israel-Jordan border.
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As part of the study, the research was carried out under the auspices of the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP), which conducts deep drilling in lake beds all over the world with the aim of studying Earth’s ancient climate and other environmental changes.
In 2010, a rig was placed in the center of the Dead Sea and began drilling to a depth of hundreds of meters, enabling an analysis of some 220,000 years of Dead Sea geology.
According to Prof. Marco, because the Dead Sea is the lowest place on earth, every winter, the flood waters that flow into the Dead Sea carry with them sediment which accumulates at the bottom of the lake into different layers.
A devastating earthquake in Israel is imminent, study shows
According to the research, which reviewed 220,000 years of Dead-Sea geology by drilling and studying the seabed, a major seismic event is expected to hit the region within the next few decades
Attila Somfalvi |
Published: 12.24.20 , 23:32
A recent study conducted at the bottom of the Dead Sea revealed that a potentially devastating earthquake measured 6.5 on the Richter Scale is expected to hit our region in the coming years.
The study, conducted by researchers from Tel Aviv University and published in the Science Advances journal, revealed that earthquakes of such magnitude tend to hit the region once every 130 to 150 years, though a smaller gap of only a few decades is also possible.