A magnitude 4.5 earthquake centered near Taba, in the southern Sinai Peninsula, triggered Home Front Command alerts across Eilat and the Arava on Wednesday, Maariv reported.
The alerts went off at about 11:25 a.m. in Eilat, Eilot, Be’er Ora, Elifaz, Timna Mines and the Shchoret industrial zone. Passengers were evacuated from Ramon Airport.
According to preliminary data from the Geological Survey of Israel, the quake struck at a depth of about 8 kilometers. Its magnitude was initially estimated at 4.4, and the Energy Ministry later revised it to 4.5. No injuries or damage have been reported.
According to Army Radio military correspondent Doron Kadosh, the Home Front Command sounds earthquake sirens when a quake is strong enough to pose a potential danger to life, and residents are instructed to leave buildings for open areas.
Residents described mixed experiences, Maariv reported. “Absolute terror,” said one woman from Eilat who lives on the ninth floor. “The house shook for a good few seconds. There was a Home Front Command alert, so I stopped the Zoom call I was on and went into the safe room.”
Others felt nothing at all. Staff at Eilat hotels said guests went into safe rooms when the alert sounded, though they had not felt any shaking themselves. One resident said her chandeliers swayed a few seconds before the alert, but she did not feel the ground move. A beach manager in Eilat said that people on the beach barely noticed, but that his daughter in Be’er Ora had felt it clearly.
Israel sits along the Syrian-African Rift, and researchers estimate that a powerful earthquake can be expected in the region roughly once a century. The last deadly earthquake in the Land of Israel struck in 1927, killing around 300 people and injuring thousands. IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir has included preparation for a major earthquake in the IDF’s 2027 work plan, according to Maariv.
