Shaking things up: IDF details earthquake preparedness plans amid fears of next potential disaster

A major earthquake in Israel could kill thousands of people, displace hundreds of thousands and cause widespread damage to critical infrastructure, a senior Home Front Command officer warned in an interview with Walla following an earthquake felt in the Gulf of Eilat earlier this week.The officer outlined the IDF's preparations for a large-scale disaster, including contingency plans for mass evacuations, prolonged rescue operations, and the rapid deployment of medical and rescue teams to geographically isolated cities, particularly Eilat."It can be said that this is the main and largest scenario we are preparing for. Nothing compares to an earthquake," the officer said.The scenario considered most likely by emergency and rescue organizations, led by the Home Front Command, involves "between hundreds and thousands of fatalities and between tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands of evacuees," along with extensive damage to infrastructure, hospitals, and the energy sector.According to the officer, emergency services would begin operating immediately under standing orders, with the first several hours devoted to assessing the scale of the disaster and identifying the areas most urgently in need of assistance."Ultimately, it takes between six and 12 hours to build the initial situation assessment," he explained.Israel Police would serve as the initial responders, while the Home Front Command would take responsibility for more complex disaster sites requiring its specialized capabilities."Prolonged search…