5.6-Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Egypt Near Suez, One Injured; Tremors Felt Across Cairo, Gaza, Jordan, Lebanon

A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck near the Egyptian city of Suez at approximately 3:00 a.m. local time on Monday, August 3, with tremors felt across Egypt and extending to the Gaza Strip, Jordan, and Lebanon. Egypt's National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics reported that the earthquake occurred about 38 kilometers north of Suez, with the German Research Centre for Geosciences measuring the quake at magnitude 5.4 at a depth of 10 kilometers. The US Geological Survey initially estimated the tremor at magnitude 5.0 before revising its assessment. Tremors were felt across a wide area, waking residents in Cairo, the Nile Delta, Alexandria, Port Said, and reaching as far as El-Arish near Egypt's border with the Gaza Strip, extending up to 400 kilometers from the epicenter. The Egyptian Ministry of Health announced that health monitoring recorded only one injury nationwide, with the individual receiving necessary medical treatment and discharged after their condition improved. The Ministry of Local Development and Environment reported the partial collapse of three old buildings in Cairo and Beheira Governorate. Egypt's Health Minister Khaled Abdel Ghaffar ordered emergency response plans activated across the country and directed ambulance services to be at maximum levels of preparedness. The Egyptian Red Crescent activated its emergency response plan, urging residents to avoid structurally damaged buildings and rely on official updates. Intense earthquakes are uncommon in Egypt. The nation's deadliest quake in modern history struck in October 1992, when a magnitude 5.8 earthquake shook the capital, killing more than 500 people and displacing thousands. The August 3 quake struck in a sensitive zone between the eastern side of Greater Cairo, the Suez region, and areas influenced by seismic activity linked to the Gulf of Suez tectonic system. Shallow earthquakes at a depth of around 10 kilometers are often felt more clearly than deeper ones of similar magnitud