5.5-magnitude earthquake shakes eastern Egypt, prompting emergency response
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A 5.5-magnitude earthquake struck eastern Egypt early Monday, rattling Cairo and surrounding areas and prompting authorities to activate the country's emergency health response, despite no immediate reports of casualties or damage.
The quake struck at around 3:00am local time (0000 GMT), approximately 40 kilometres north of Suez, according to Egypt's National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics (NRIAG), which later revised the magnitude upward from 5.2 to 5.5.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) estimated the earthquake's magnitude at 5.0.
Residents reported feeling the tremor across a wide area, extending as far as Arish near Egypt's border with the Gaza Strip. The shaking lasted for more than 15 seconds, according to an AFP correspondent.
"I was awake when the house suddenly started shaking. I had to grab a chair tightly to keep from falling," Ahmed Badrawi, a 42-year-old resident of 6th of October City west of Cairo, told AFP.
Egyptian Health Minister Khaled Abdel Ghaffar ordered the activation of the national emergency health plan and said ambulance services had been placed on full alert.
The Health Ministry and the Egyptian Red Crescent said no reports of injuries, deaths or property damage had been received.
The Egyptian Red Crescent also urged residents to avoid old buildings or structures showing visible cracks until further assessments are completed.
Egypt's deadliest modern earthquake occurred on October 12, 1992, when a 5.8-magnitude quake lasting more than 30 seconds killed more than 540 people, displaced thousands and destroyed dozens of buildings across the country, according to official figures.
