5.5-magnitude earthquake hits Egypt, tremors felt in Cairo

A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck northeast of Sharm el-Sheikh early Monday, Egypt’s National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics said.

The earthquake occurred at around 3:00 a.m. local time (0000 GMT) at a depth of 10 km, with its epicentre located at 30.19 degrees north latitude and 32.61 degrees east longitude, according to the institute.

The institute said it had received



reports that the tremor was felt by residents, “without any loss of life or property.” Xinhua correspondents also felt noticeable tremors in Cairo, the Egyptian capital.

Following the earthquake, Egypt’s Minister of Health and Population Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar ordered the immediate activation of the country’s health emergency plan and the convening of the ministry’s central crisis and emergency operations room.