Prime Minister Ehud Olmert this afternoon, on the 80th anniversary of the earthquake that struck the Dead Sea area, participated in a National Infrastructures Ministry earthquake simulation exercise that was attended by 50 representatives of various Government ministries and bodies.  The Prime Minister was briefed on Israel's earthquake preparedness and on possible solutions for each situation.
 
Public Security Minister Avi Dichter, Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai, senior Geophysical Institute of Israel (http://www.gii.co.il/) officials and other senior Government, local government, IDF and Israel Police officials attended the simulation.
 
Prime Minister Olmert instructed the Defense Ministry and the National Infrastructures Ministry to determine the allocation of responsibilities between the various Government bodies regarding both earthquake preparedness and action during actual earthquakes.  He similarly instructed the Environmental Protection Ministry to formulate an earthquake contingency plan for factories that handle dangerous substances.
 
Prime Minister Olmert said: "We must prepare for such events before they occur.  Therefore, today's exercise was very important.  The various ministries must be ready for any scenario.  Preparedness must be checked and we did so today."