Explosion of Lebanese weapons depot activates earthquake alerts in northern Israel

Earthquake warnings were mistakenly activated on Saturday morning across 284 communities in northern Israel and the West Bank due to an explosion at a Lebanese site containing a large amount of explosives.

הפיצוץ האדיר בלבנון - שהוביל להתרעה על רעידת אדמה בצפון | תיעוד pic.twitter.com/uAzG1jPmqw

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The IDF confirmed the explosions as a result of IDF activities, saying, "Over the past few minutes, explosions were heard in northern Israel following IDF operational activity in southern Lebanon. There is no indication of a security incident."

The Geological Institute confirmed the details, explaining that the alerts were mistakenly triggered due to a detection error. “Following a significant controlled explosion in the north this morning, the alert system identified the explosion as an earthquake, and the alert was distributed accordingly,” they said.

The “Teru’a” system, Israel’s national earthquake alert platform, is recognized as one of the world’s most advanced. When launched in Israel in 2022, a standout feature was its ability to differentiate between explosions and earthquakes.

However, the system was misled this morning, possibly because the explosion occurred near one of its sensors. even the European international monitoring network recorded the explosion as seismic activity.

The alert system, developed by the Geological Institute with several partners, comprises field sensors, computer communication, a control and monitoring center, and an emergency hub staffed around the clock. Its estimated cost is approximately NIS 45 million.

Maintaining the system

At the system’s launch, Geological Institute Director Prof. Zohar Gvirtzman cautioned that without sustained funding for upgrades and maintenance, the system risks deterioration. “On the day this system goes live, we issue a warning: if sufficient long-term funding is not allocated for ongoing maintenance, capability upgrades, and research and development, the system will decline,” he said.

“When the project began, few systems like it existed globally, making future needs hard to estimate. Now, an update in budgetary support is necessary for the coming years. In a country requiring billions to reinforce buildings, the costs needed to maintain and preserve this alert system are minimal, and every shekel invested will save lives.”