Cairo, Aug 3 (IANS) 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.
The ministry raised the alert level to the highest at emergency and critical-care departments in hospitals nationwide and confirmed the readiness of ambulances and rapid-response teams.
It said the health situation remained stable, and no earthquake-related injuries had been reported.
Meanwhile, the Egyptian Red Crescent activated emergency plans in cities where the earthquake was felt and said it had received no reports of casualties or property damage.
Egypt lies close to active tectonic zones around the Gulf of Suez, the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba, making the country susceptible to occasional moderate earthquakes, although most result in little to no damage.
Located in the Mediterranean Sea, where the African Plate slides beneath the Eurasian Plate, causing moderate to strong seismic activity felt in northern Egypt.
--IANS
