The key facts
- An earthquake occurred in the area of the city of Eilat in southern Israel
- Warning sirens sounded in the city and neighboring settlements
- According to Israeli Army Radio, sirens are activated for tremors above magnitude 4 and a real threat to life
Earthquake in the Eilat area
An earthquake occurred in the area of the city of Eilat in southern Israel — the data was reported by the Israeli civil defense service. Sirens warning of an earthquake threat sounded in Eilat and nearby settlements.
How the alert system works
As clarified on Israeli Army Radio, sirens are activated only for earthquakes above magnitude 4 on the Richter scale and when there is a real threat to life. This means that the activated alert itself indicates tremors of significant strength. No information about casualties or damage was provided in the reports.
Context: recent earthquakes in other countries
The event in Israel occurred against the backdrop of a series of recent seismic events in other regions. On November 9, an earthquake of magnitude 5.7 occurred in Japan: the epicenter was in the Pacific Ocean east of Miyagi Prefecture, with the source at a depth of 40 km. No information about casualties or damage was received, and no tsunami threat was declared. A few days earlier, tremors of magnitude 6.1 were recorded in the Pacific Ocean off the eastern coast of Honshu Island, with the epicenter 199 km southeast of the city of Narita, home to about 100,000 people. The earthquake in Israel was also reported after tremors in China.
