Ethiopia experienced a series of earthquakes on Saturday, including a 5.8-magnitude tremor, which has caused widespread alarm and evacuations in the country’s remote northern regions.
The quakes affected the rural areas of Afar, Oromia, and Amhara, following months of heightened seismic activity, according to AFP.
Ethiopia’s government Communication Service reports that approximately 2,000 people have already been displaced, with efforts underway to provide temporary shelter for the most vulnerable among the 80,000 residents in the impacted regions.
It issued a statement warning of an increase in both the frequency and intensity of the earthquakes.
“The occurrences of the earthquakes are increasing in terms of magnitude and recurrences,” it said in a statement, adding that experts had been dispatched to assess the damage.
A 4.7-magnitude quake was the latest in the series, striking just before noon local time near Metehara in Oromia.
The tremors have also raised fears of a volcanic eruption at Mount Dofan in the Afar region, which had previously been dormant.
Although the volcano has ceased emitting smoke, local residents have evacuated in panic.
Ethiopia’s position along the Great Rift Valley, one of the most tectonically active zones in the world, makes it prone to earthquakes.
Geologists attribute the current activity to the expansion of tectonic plates beneath the region.
No casualties have been reported thus far, but authorities continue to monitor the situation closely.
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