First-time drill to simulate responding to massive earthquake
For the first time the annual Home Front Command drill will simulate both a massive earthquake in Israel and a tsunami hitting Tel Aviv
Date: 10/10/2012, 6:48 PM Author: IDF Website
The Home Front Command is completing the final preparations for the nation-wide home front exercise entitled Turning Point 6, which will begin in 11 days. For the first time, the exercise will have a scenario simulating a major earthquake occurring in Israel. The details of the exercise were presented today during a briefing held by the Home Front Defense Minister Mr. Avi Dichter and the commander of the Home Front Command Maj. Gen. Eyal Eisenberg.
At the briefing, Maj. Gen. Eisenberg stated that the home front’s next exercise “will be a powerful experience, unlike any we have experience in recent years. We want to create a more complete sense of emergency among citizens, various organizations and ministries. This is all to better prepare the population so that we can minimize our losses.”
The scenario will involve a powerful earthquake that strikes the Israeli Arava and the Upper Galilee and sow destruction in Gush Dan as well. As a result, Tsunami waves will also hit the beaches of Tel Aviv. The Home Front Command’s forces will be required to deal with a situation involving over 7,000 “dead”, 70,000 casualties, and the evacuation of over 170 thousand people.
Home Front Defense Minister Dichter concluded, "if I were to choose between the scenario of an earthquake or a missile attack on Israel, I would choose the latter, in terms of the damage it would cause and our ability to avert it.”
2012 has been defined by the Home Front Command as a year of preparation for a possible earthquake. The central exercises undertaken by the command this year will focus on preparing for this scenario, with the climax of these preparations being the national Home Front Command exercise. Likewise, September was deemed a preparation month for the home front, during which various workshops were held throughout the country. Unique tutorial booklets explaining how best to prepare for an earthquake will be distributed to every household in the country.
Last July, the Home Front Command launched their yearly education campaign, covering the preparedness of the home front for a large-scale emergency, with an emphasis on earthquakes and under the motto "the home front takes command". This is the fourth such campaign that the Home Front Command has launched aimed at educating the civilian population. The goal of the campaign is to raise awareness and mobilize the public, encouraging them to prepare their households, family, and surroundings for potential emergencies.
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