Represented by Dr. Jalal Dabbeek, Director of the Urban Planning and Disaster Risk Reduction Center and the Seismic Engineering Unit at An-Najah University, as well as Dr. Radwan Al-Kilani and Dr. Ayman Muhsen, the University participated in a periodic workshop for the RELEMR (Reduction of Earthquake Losses in the Extended Mediterranean Region). The workshop was sponsored by the Disaster Reduction Department in the UNESCO – Paris Office and the United States Geological Survey (USGS), and was held in Malta.

During the workshop’s sessions, the studies and programs that were carried out by the institutions of the participating countries have been presented; the work papers addressed a number of issues related to earthquakes, their risks, and reduction mechanisms.

Dr. Dabbeek presented a paper about the design and execution of key constructions such as hospitals and schools in such a way to be resilient to earthquakes. He also reviewed several Palestinian case studies about the non-constructional damage that could occur in a number of key constructions and buildings in case the region witnesses moderate to major earthquakes. Moreover, he explained that the design and execution of schools’ buildings in Palestine is subject to the codes of seismic design, and that there is great concern by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education regarding this matter. He also pointed out that over the last years, the Ministry of Health has shown some interest in seismic design and execution of its buildings and has also started to apply the requirements of public safety on some of these buildings.

Dr. Muhsen presented a paper in which he discussed the distribution of sediment thickness and the earth’s crust in Wadi Araba region and the Dead Sea. He then linked this information with the geological and tectonic aspects and reviewed the applied geophysical results of the Dead Sea Basin in order to come up with a comprehensive image of this region.

Dr. Dabbek also reviewed several activities and events in the field of disaster risk reduction which have been carried out by the Seismic Engineering Unit at An-Najah in 2011 in cooperation with a number of Palestinian organizations and the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR). He also emphasized the step that the Ministry of Local Government has taken recently whereby it adopted the Earthquake-proof Building Design system based on the recommendations of the Memorandum of Understanding that was signed last year between the Ministry of Local Government, the Ministry of Housing and Public Works, the Urban Planning and Disaster Risk Reduction Center (Represented by the Seismic Engineering Unit), and the Engineering Association.