Home

About
Us

Advertise

Archives

Forum

Classifieds

ePaper

Subscribe

Contact us

Search

Search
Criteria Author
Keyword Date

Daily Star Sections

Lebanon

Egypt

Middle
East

Lebanon News

Politics

Business

Local
News

Lebanon
Examiner

Editorial

Opinion

Snapshots

News
Briefs

Readers'
Letters

Star
Scene

Photo
Essay

Site Services

Registration

PDF
version

ePaper

Archives

Research Tool

News in Video

Live TV

Travel Guide

SMS
Alerts

DS
Toolbar

DS Store

Classifieds

Forum

RSS
Feeds

Add
DS Headlines

Ringtones
& Logos

ePaper Exclusive

More Regional News

More Business News

Business Agenda

Movie Guide

Daily Guide

Today in History

Cultural Agenda

Horoscope

Supplements

Earthquake of up to 7
on Richter scale expected to hit Lebanon
No one can specify timing, says Order
of Engineers, architects
By
Hanadi Chami
Special to The Daily
Star
Friday, August 31, 2007

BEIRUT: The head of the
Order of Engineers and Architects said Thursday that an
earthquake might hit Lebanon. "Studies have showed that an
earthquake with a maximum 6.5 to 7 on the Richter scale is
expected here," Samir Doumit said during a news conference
held by the National Council for Scientific Research (NCSR) on
seismology and tectonics in Lebanon.

However, he said,
"buildings designed with minimum resistibility to earthquakes"
will escape much of the destruction.

"Earthquakes are [a]
natural occurrence we can't prevent, but we can take adequate
measures to lessen its damaging impact," he said.

On August 10, an article
published in The Daily Star said that "a new underwater survey
has revealed that Lebanon lies dangerously close to a fault
that could soon generate a catastrophic tsunami."

The article quoted a report
by Discovery News channel which said that a fault lying just
6.5 kilometers off Lebanon's coast caused a tsunami-generating
earthquake in 551 AD

According to the survey,
the fault moves approximately every 1,500 years, meaning a
disaster of the same magnitude as the earthquake and tsunami
that destroyed coastal cities on July 9, 551, could be due any
time.

The Order of Engineers and
Architects warned contractors and architects in Lebanon about
the extent of the expected damage of "probable" earthquakes.

Doumit said rumors have
been spreading during the past few days about the possibility
of an earthquake, but he stressed that "no one can specify the
timing of the earthquake."

The National Center for
Geophysics, in collaboration with a French team of
researchers, discovered a major fault connected with the
Yammouneh fault, starting from the South of Marjayoun to the
North at Qobeiyt, according to Dr. Ata Elias, a researcher at
the National Center for Geophysics. "Studies showed that the
fault is of 100-150 kilometers across the shore between Sidon
and Tripoli at a depth of 1,300-1,500 meters," said
Elias.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb

Elias added that photos
taken by a French submarine equipped with cutting-edge
geophysical technologies showed cracks and fractures all along
the fault, indicating its "activity."

"Our discovery of the Mt.
Lebanon fault allows us to better estimate the risks of the
probable earthquakes and tsunami waves," Elias said, adding
that the best way to minimize the damaging effects of such an
event was to enhance public awareness around safety measures
that must be taken.

National Center for
Geophysics Administrator Alexander Sirsok outlined the history
of seismic activity in Lebanon.

"Lebanon is a high mountain
with a vastly inclined slope diving into the Mediterranean and
interrupted by the Yammouneh Fault which makes it a geological
exception in its region," he explained.

Sirsok said that the
geomorphologic phenomenon is evidence of the highly active
tectonic reaction in the region.

"It is quite normal for
earthquakes to occur in such geomorphologic regions," Sirsok
said, adding that tsunamis are also common in the
Mediterranean Basin, recalling the

latest tsunami which
accompanied the 2003 Boumerdes earthquake in Algeria.

"Inadequate detailing of
reinforcements, building adjacency, and the lack of quality,
control, and construction supervision are all problems of the
non-engineered buildings," said Dr. Mohammad Harajli, who
explained the means to mitigate seismic hazards in Lebanon.
Harajli said designing buildings with seismic resistibility
only adds the cost by "2-5 percent of the total cost.

The secretary general of
the NCSR, Moeen Hamzeh, said that scientific research is at

the core of knowledge and
that Lebanese research around the activity of seismic fault

activity meets with
international standards.

Tags: Lebanon,
Mediterranean, War

Printable Version

Send to a friend

Digg This!

Save on Del.icio.us

Seed Newsvine

Netscape

Save to Reddit

Share on Facebook

Add to Google

Save to My
Web

Your feedback is important to us!

We invite all our readers to
share with us
their views and comments about this
article.

Click
here NOW to Comment on this Article

More Lebanon News
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . .

»International Committee of the Red
Cross says 17,000 Lebanese missing since start of
1975-90 Civil War

»Summer retreat offers youth skills to
foster social change, peace

»LAU receives grant to establish
medical school

»Turning the rubble of war into a
temporary residence

»German music school brings new
methods to Beirut

»Organic market promotes
Lebanese-grown Indian figs

»Revenge killing leaves man, mother
dead

»Security forces hunt Baalbek car
robbers

»Under half of Lebanon's nurses feel
accountable to patients

»War damaged 90 percent of South's
vegetation - report

»4 youngsters injured in explosion of
old shell

»Suffering in the dark: abused women
have few places to turn in
Lebanon

More
Books about Lebanon War

Privacy
Policy | Anti-Spamming
Policy | Copyright
Policy | http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=84943#

Copyright
© 2007, The Daily Star. All rights reserved. Click
here to contact our syndication department for permission
to republish or make other authorized use of this material. Contact
the Online editor
to report any problems with the site or to send your comments and
suggestions.

MIDDLE EAST NEWS

Politics. . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . .

» US
general wants heftier forces to prop up Abbas in West
Bank - Israeli daily

» Israel
blames tension with Syria on Russia

» Pakistan
protests cartoon in Swedish daily

Business. . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . .

» UN
outlines Israeli shadow over Palestinian
economy

» Wealthy
Gulf tourists increasingly opt to spend summer holiday
in Cairo

» Iran
doubles gasoline quota for summer driving
period

-- More
Middle East News --