A magnitude 5.5 earthquake shook eastern Egypt early Monday and was felt in parts of southern and central Israel, monitors said.

The quake struck about 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of the city of Suez at 3:00 am (0000 GMT), according to Egypt’s National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics, which revised an earlier estimate of 5.2.

The German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) measured the earthquake at magnitude 5.4 and said it struck at a depth of 10 kilometers (6 miles). The US Geological Survey put the shallow tremor at magnitude 5.0, revising down an earlier reading.

Tremors woke people across Cairo and as far as El-Arish, near the border with Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, Israelis reported feeling tremors in Beersheba and near Jerusalem. Tremors were also registered in Jordan.

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.”

However, there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage, according to the health........

© The Times of Israel