Minor quake shakes northern Israel
A 3.6 magnitude temblor rattles the Galilee; no injuries or significant damage reported
A minor earthquake shook northern Israel early Saturday morning around 2:30 a.m. Neither injuries nor significant damage were reported in the quake, the second in as many days.
According to the Israeli Geophysical Institute reported that the temblor registered at 3.6 on the Richter scale. Thursday night’s minor quake clocked in at a 3.5, the institute reported. Both earthquakes had an epicenter near the Sea of Galilee.
Israel is situated along the Syrian-African rift, a tear in the earth’s crust running the length of the border separating Israel and Jordan, and is part of the Great Rift Valley which extends from northern Syria to Mozambique.
Israel’s last major earthquake rattled the region in 1927 — a 6.2 magnitude quake that killed 500 and injured another 700. An earthquake in 1837 left as many as 5,000 people dead. According to a 2010 Haaretz report, major earthquakes strike Israel once every 80 years or so, meaning the country may be long overdue for a serious natural disaster.