A 5.4 magnitude earthquake that struck in the middle of the Red Sea on Tuesday afternoon was felt in southern Israel.
According to the Geological Survey of Israel—a public-sector organization that advises the government in Jerusalem on geoscience—the tremor struck 152 miles southwest of Eilat at 5:30 p.m., and was felt as far north as the Sinai Peninsula. No damage or injuries were reported.
Last month, a 3.2 magnitude earthquake was felt in the Lower Galilee; a second one, just 75 minutes later, hit southern Lebanon, according to the Geological Survey.
Israel’s eastern border sits on the Syria-Africa fault line of the Great Rift Valley, a crack in the earth’s crust that runs from Lebanon to Mozambique.
The last major earthquake to hit the region was the 1927 Jericho earthquake, a 6.2-magnitude tremor that lasted about five seconds but killed 500 people and injured 700 more, causing widespread damage.
