On 12 October 1992, around 3.10pm, a 20 seconds earthquake occurred around 18 km southwest from the center of Cairo. This earthquake was the strongest recorded near the capital of Egypt. The magnitude of the earthquake was 5.9 on the Richter scale.
It was a surprise to experts and geophysicists. Cairo is estimated 250 miles away from the nearest plate boundary, thus the region that generates most earthquakes is far away, so few scientists pay attention to Cairo.

The quake caused many human stampedes and toppled buildings. Altogether, there were about 520 deaths, over 100 trampled school children and at least 4,000 people were injured. Cairo, with a population of 14 million people, was the hardest hit. There were 127 deaths and 2139 hurt. Throughout Egypt, 116 buildings were reported destroyed or damaged.

According to reports, the quake was felt on the Mediterranean in Alexandra, Suez Canal at Ismailia and Asyut in the southern part of Egypt. The farthest felt was Jerusalem which was 250 miles away from Cairo, with selective destruction made. A school, apartment house or office building occasionally collapsed there.

The authorities immediately affirmed a state of emergency in Cairo and rescuers struggled to dig out buried survivors. About 15 people were pulled out alive before dusk, rescue work continued throughout the night.
Many victims were frustrated with the Egyptian authorities. They did not find proper shelter for the around 2,000 homeless families. The apartments that were allocated lack running water and electricity.

I feel that the scientists could have paid attention to all places, instead of just those natural disasters prone zones. The authorities should seek help from other countries and help raised funds for the people. The victims should have given the authorities more time to settle everyone down.