Tammuz 2

In 1927, the town of Nablus (biblical Shechem) was convulsed by an earthquake measuring 6.2 on the Richter Scale. Nearly 300 people were killed, 1,000 injured, and many of Shechem's historical buildings were destroyed. The flow of the Jordan River stopped for 21 hours due to landslides, and the quake caused damage in Jerusalem, Jericho and Amman. In Israel, a zone of intense seismic activity is located along the Dead Sea Transform fault, rupturing the boundary between the Arabian and the Sinai plates. The geologic stress is evident by the radically folded strata exposed in the hills around Jericho. This zone includes numerous volcanoes and hot springs.