Magnitude-5.8 earthquake hits Ethiopia, Volcano erupts near Addis Ababa

CAIRO – 4 January 2025: A magnitude-5.8 earthquake struck Ethiopia, nearby places of Abomsa and Amhara in Afra region, near to the capital “Addis Ababa,” on Saturday. 

The epicenter of the earthquake is at a depth of 10 kilometers, according to the Ethiopia Geological Institute and the US Geological Survey (USGS).

Some earthquake and geological researchers expected that the tremors could be larger and bigger.

BREAKING NEWS.
These earthquakes in Ethiopia keep getting bigger.
Unless someone else claims otherwise, I was the only person who warned one hour before the first magnitude 5 in this series. Since this morning, they started getting larger.
First went up to 5.2, then 5.5, now 5.8. pic.twitter.com/ffXIylqwt4

— 🇨🇦Canadian🇺🇸earthquake🇧🇷researcher🇯🇲 (@mxdondevivo) January 4, 2025

Meanwhile, Mount Dofan Volcano in the Afar region in Ethiopia has started erupting, while large cracks in the ground also started appearing, according to the Ethiopian Geological Institute.

Thus, Ethiopian authorities urged thousands of residents to evacuate and move to temporary shelters, AP and BBC reported on Saturday.

Egyptian Geologist at the Cairo University Abbas Sheraqi said on his Facebook page that the seismic activity in Ethiopia could intensify, with tremors potentially serving as precursors. He also warned that volcanic activity might produce more lava and could spread to neighboring volcanoes, particularly Fentale to the south, which is located in a densely populated area.

Sheraqi added, "We do not wish for the Renaissance Dam to collapse, as our brothers in Ethiopia live safely far from the dam. However, our concern is for our brothers in Sudan, as well as the fact that the waters of the Renaissance Dam [GERD] serve as an important water reserve for Egypt."

Egypt and Sudan have engaged in talks with Ethiopia for more than a decade in a bid to secure a binding agreement concerning the GERD to protect their water rights. However, Addis Ababa proceeded with dam filling and operation without the two downstream countries’ consent.

Egypt announced last year that the revived negotiation track over the long-standing dam dispute concluded, as the fourth and final trilateral round of failed to produce positive results.

Egypt attributed the breakdown to Ethiopia's persistent refusal of proposed middle-ground technical or legal solutions to safeguard the interests of all three countries.

Additional reporting by Amr Moahmed Kandil