Authorities have begun evacuating residents in northeastern Ethiopia after signs of potentially dangerous activity at a volcano, officials said Friday.
Civilians in the Afar region were relocated to temporary shelters, according to state-owned Fana Broadcasting, which cited a regional administrator for the region.
Shiferaw Teklemariam, commissioner of the Ethiopian Disaster Risk Management Commission, said it was too early to describe the activity as an explosion, adding that authorities were exercising caution.
“communities; some are already leaving those areas. We are also preparing to do this in an orderly manner. This [moving the community] “It will be based on predictions,” he told Reuters.
Officials warn of possible volcanic eruption
The Ethiopian Geological Institute shared a video on its Facebook page showing dust and smoke rising from the long-dormant volcano of Mount Dofen.
However, not all triggers of volcanic activity cause a full eruption.
This area is sensitive to earthquakes and tremors
A magnitude-5.8 earthquake struck Ethiopia on Saturday at a depth of about 10 kilometers (6 miles), according to the U.S. Geological Survey and the German Research Center for Geosciences.
The European-Mediterranean Seismological Center said a 5.5 magnitude earthquake had also hit the same region on Friday.
Dozens of earthquakes and aftershocks have been recorded in the region in recent months.
ESS/RM (Reuters, AP, AFP)
