An earthquake with a magnitude of 4.9 on the Richter scale early Tuesday hit the South Sinai area, east of Egypt, Petra quoted the Jordan Seismological Observatory (JSO) as saying. In a statement, JSO Director Ghassan Sweidan said an earthquake hit the Sinai area at 3:15 am, at a depth of 10km, and is considered a moderate sensible earthquake on the Richter scale.