Disasters & Incidents
Egypt earthquake: one injury reported after 5.6 quake
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck about 40 kilometres north of the Egyptian city of Suez early Monday, Egypt's National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics said, and the health ministry reported one injury.
The institute said the quake hit at 3:00 am local time, or 0000 GMT, and was followed by five aftershocks. It revised an earlier estimate of magnitude 5.2. The US Geological Survey put the shallow tremor at magnitude 5.0 after revising down an earlier reading.
Tremors were felt across a wide area, including Cairo and as far as El-Arish near Egypt's border with the Gaza Strip.
Egyptian Health Minister Khaled Abdel Ghaffar ordered emergency response plans activated across the country and directed ambulance services to be at maximum preparedness.
Authorities said three families were evacuated from a collapsing building in the northern Cairo neighbourhood of Rod al-Farag. The Egyptian Red Crescent also received a report of a collapsed balcony near the quake's epicentre in Suez and urged residents to stay away from old and dilapidated buildings.
Intense earthquakes are uncommon in Egypt. The country's deadliest earthquake in modern history struck in October 1992, when a magnitude 5.8 quake shook the capital, killing more than 500 people and displacing thousands.
Update
Egypt's National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics put the quake at magnitude 5.6.
The institute said the quake was followed by five aftershocks.
Egypt's health ministry reported one injury.
Authorities said three families were evacuated from a collapsing building in Rod al-Farag in northern Cairo.
The Egyptian Red Crescent received a report of a collapsed balcony near the epicentre in Suez.
Source note: AFP news report published on 3 August 2026 at 07:33:50 UTC.
Update
Egypt's National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics said the quake was magnitude 5.5, revised from an earlier 5.2 estimate.
The US Geological Survey put the shallow tremor at magnitude 5.0 after revising down an earlier reading.
Egypt's health minister ordered emergency response plans activated and told ambulance services to be at maximum preparedness.
The tremors were felt across Cairo and as far as El-Arish near Egypt's border with the Gaza Strip.
The Egyptian Red Crescent urged residents to stay away from old and dilapidated buildings.
Source note: AFP news report published on 3 August 2026 at 02:07:08 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
The Egyptian institute and the US Geological Survey gave different magnitude estimates.
The full extent of damage remained unclear in the supplied information.
Source
AFP news report published on .