Earthquakes in Israel continue

4.0 quake felt; no damage, injuries
By ASSOCIATED PRESS

The fourth earthquake in two weeks shook parts of Israel and the
Palestinian Authority on Sunday, causing no casualties or damage.

The tremor had a magnitude of 4.0, according to a statement from
Israel's Geophysical Institute. Its epicenter was north of the Dead
Sea, the lowest point on earth, on the active Syrian-African rift
fault line where earthquakes are common.

On average, major earthquakes hit Israel once a century. But the
recent tremors do not indicate that a large-scale quake is on the way,
said Dr. Uri Frieslander, director of the Geophysical Institute.

"What we're seeing are typical movements along the Dead Sea valley,"
Frieslander told Israel Radio.

"These quakes... don't foreshadow anything or indicate that something
is about to happen," he said.

The last major earthquake to strike the area was in 1927. It had a
magnitude of more than 6 and killed 500 people. Israeli experts say
that because of population growth and high-rise construction, an
earthquake of the same magnitude today would kill more than 18,000 people.

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