A magnitude-7.8 earthquake struck the Sistan and Baluchistan province in southeastern Iran, on its border with Pakistan, according to the United States Geographical Survey. The quake began at 3:44 PM local time, 6:44 AM ET in southeastern Iran, about 50 miles east of the city of Khash and near the Pakistani border. The quake’s depth was reported at about 50 miles below the Earth’s surface.

Khash has a population of 70,000.

A state of emergency was declared in the region, and rescue teams were dispatched from the surrounding area to the remote site, Iran’s state news agency IRNA reported.

IRNA called the earthquake a huge disaster. State-run Press TV reported that at least 40 people were killed, including seven in Pakistan.

Accoding to Reuters, witnesses are saying that tall buildings shook as far as way as New Delhi, India, some 1,500 miles away, and people went running into the streets. southern Pakistan was also rocked.

Pakistan state television said aftershocks were rattling the region at 7:30 AM ET.

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A five-day national earthquake preparedness drill, codenamed Turning Point 6, was conducted in Israel earlier this week – and the post-drill conclusions were not reassuring to the country’s citizens.

The cause of this consternation that could cost thousands of Israeli lives in the aftermath of a major earthquake is the stifling Israeli government bureaucracy and a lack of coordination between the IDF, police and emergency services. The drill exposed several fault lines among other various government and security agencies that have been charged with saving lives and keeping the country functioning in the hours and days following a major natural disaster.

Israel sits directly along the Syrian-African rift, a natural geological anomaly that sparks minor earthquakes on a regular basis across major portions of the Middle East. Scientists say that a major earthquake is expected to hit Israel at least once every 100 years. It is feared that a quake exceeding 6.0 on the Richter scale would cause major damage and kill or maim many people.

Israel’s Channel 10 News reported that the aforementioned coordination gap between the relevant state institutions has been acknowledged by military and government sources. To compensate for these shortcomings, it is believed that the highly praised IDF Home Front Command earthquake unit would need to rely on significant assistance from other Western nations in order to deal with a large-scale natural disaster.

An IDF Home Front Command report has estimated that a major earthquake would cause thousands of deaths and injuries to citizens residing within the metropolitan Tel Aviv region due to the poorly constructed apartment buildings erected prior to 1990. After Iraqi missiles damaged old buildings in that area during the 1990-91 First Gulf War, Israel’s government began requiring construction companies to use special earthquake proof materials in newly built apartment buildings and private home structures.

Israeli scientists have also said that a major earthquake could spark a Mediterranean tsunami wave that would hit portions of the Tel Aviv, Netanya and Haifa coastlines. This would cause the luxury apartment buildings and hotels that are located near the beaches to either collapse or suffer severe water damage.

All across Israel, the nationwide earthquake drill “Turning Point 6″ has begun. The drill simulates massive earthquakes ranging from 5.0 to 7.0 in magnitude, as well as a tsunami hitting Israel near Tel Aviv later in the afternoon.

Emergency services, television, radio and schools are participating in the simulation. The simulation will run over the next few days.

Simultaneously, the IDF and the US Army have begun performing a massive military exercise called “Austere Challenge 12″. This exercise is meant to simulate an air-based attack on Israel, and subsequently defending against it. This exercise will run for a month. Israel’s various missile-defense systems will be tested.

This is the largest joint exercise that has been held between Israel and the US, with 3500 soldiers participating.

On Sunday, Israel will be running a countrywide drill to test its preparation in case of a massive earthquake and tsunami. Thousands of emergency personnel, citizens, and even schools will be participating. Announcements will be made on TV and radio as part of the simulation.

Some local towns will be continuing with the drill throughout the week on a smaller scale to test specific preparations.

On Friday morning, tremors were felt in Israel from a 5.0 earthquake that originated north of Alexandria, Egypt. Nothing like a little realism to set the tone for the simulation.

Indiana National Guard Soldiers with the 19th CERFP (CBRNE [Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Enhanced Conventional Weapons] Enhanced Response Force Package), soldiers and marines who specialize in disaster response, the IDF’s Search and Rescue Unit, part of the Home Front Command, and ZAKA (the Hebrew acronym for Disaster Victim Identification) participated in a joint training exercise, which focused on international collaboration in dealing with mass destruction events. These events may be the result of an earthquake or the falling of missiles, both of which require search and rescue missions. One hundred and twenty participants from all units trained for two days, recovering hundreds of “live” and “dead” dummies which were buried among the ruins on the campus grounds at the Jerusalem College of Engineering. The training entailed the use of advanced technology, search dogs from the IDF’s Oketz canine unit, and the practice of strategic cooperation under pressure.

The IDF and ZAKA have been holding joint exercises with the National Guard for several years. These operations are conducted primarily with the objective of sharing techniques and professional knowledge, and creating a better work dynamic between American and Israeli forces. In the event of a massive missile attack on Israel or a destructive earthquake, the Israeli Home Front Command will not be able to cope on its own, and the American Military SAR units will be called in to assist with rescue efforts. The training is conducted with these potential events in mind.

The Indiana National guard said that as part of a small-unit exchange, soldiers with the Indiana National Guard’s 19th CERFP trained alongside the Israelis to learn their search-and-extraction methods, garnered from multiple real-world events. The members of the National Guard took a tour of Jerusalem prior to the training, learning the history of the city.

ZAKA, established in 1995, is a non-governmental lifesaving, rescue and recovery unit, a volunteer based organization with about 1,500 members. ZAKA has an international division which cooperates with law enforcement, military and emergency services across the globe. They participated in rescue missions after the tsunami in Thailand, the Columbia shuttle crash, Hurricane Katrina, and recently, the earthquake in Japan. ZAKA specializes in the identification of victims of disasters, and held a special briefing for the American forces, explaining the fundamentals of Jewish law in regard to recovery and burial of victims. “We explained to the Americans that each victim is treated in accordance with his religion,” said Chaim Otmazgin, commander of ZAKA’s special units. “We are guided by the principles of respecting each individual, even after his death, without regard to his or her race, gender or nationality.” Matti Goldstein, spokesman for ZAKA’s international division, told Tazpit, “I welcome the opportunity for commanders and members of these units to participate in such a large scale exercise. It enhances the operational level immeasurably.” The Americans shared some of their identification and registration procedures with ZAKA.

The Home Front Command has been conducting a variety of exercises in the past months on the JCE campus, which has been declared a partially-closed military zone. The exercises are conducted over an area of about 4,000 square meters, among the ruins of old dorms which have been torn down with the intent of building a new campus. Deputy College President and CEO, Shlomzion Lulu, said that she was glad to facilitate these exercises on the JCE campus, providing these lifesaving units with an opportunity to further improve their skills. During the exercise, JCE students presented refreshments to the training soldiers.

At least three people are dead after a 5.9 magnitude earthquake struck northern Italy at 4:04am on Sunday.

Powerful aftershocks shook the area, which was littered with toppled buildings.  At least three were killed after a 5.9-magnitude earthquake struck across a large swath of northern Italy Sunday at 4:04 a.m. The epicenter of the quake, Italy’s strongest in 3 years, was near Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of the Po River Valley.

Two of the victims died when factories they worked in – one ceramics and one polyester – collapsed on top of them.  Another woman, believed to be German, died of a heart attack.

Several historic sites, including castles and churches, were badly damaged by the earthquake.

As residents of northern Israel were turning in for the night, a 3.8 magnitude earthquake originating at the Sea of Galilee (Kinneret) jolted them awake on Sunday.

The Geophysical Institute of Israel reported that the short and mild earthquake, which was felt by residents of Metula, Tiberius, Acco, Nahariya and Kiryat Shmona, began around the area of the Sea of Galilee and Hula valley.  No damage or injuries have been reported.

This is not the first time the North has been affected by earthquakes – or even the first time this year.  Mild earthquakes also hit the country in August and April, causing no damage or injuries.  However, major earthquakes taking place in northern Israel in 1759 and 1837 were catastrophic, killing thousands of people and twice razing the city of Tzfat.

In July, chairman of the National Economic Council Professor Eugene Kendal told Israel Army Radio that Israel is not financially prepared for the next large earthquake.

In March, a report by State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss predicted that a 7.5 “worst-case scenario” earthquake in northern Israel could “cause 16,000 deaths, 6,000 seriously injured, 83,000 lightly injured, 377,000 evacuated from their homes,” breaks in sewage pipes and the National Water Carrier, electric outages, and the partial collapse of two overpasses near Haifa.

A small earthquake, 4.1 on the Richter scale jostled Sharm el-Sheikh today. The epicenter was south-west of the city and felt up to 350 kilometers away.