Tens of thousands of pastoralists residing in the Awash Fentale district, near the Kesem Dam in Afar region of Ethiopia are being relocated to evacuation centers following increasing volcanic activity across the Ethiopian Rift Valley, an Ethiopian official disclosed on Wednesday.
At least 10 earthquakes have been reported in the Ethiopian Rift Valley Ethiopia over the last one month and the government over the weekend announced the relocation of 80,000 residents to other places.
The United States Geological Survey last Saturday recorded the largest earthquake measuring a magnitude of 5.8 about 56 kilometers (35 miles) southeast of Ambosa, in the Oromia region, in the early hours of Saturday.
Atalay Ayele, head of the Seismology Department and a professor of seismic science at Addis Ababa University, says the epicenter was in the middle of Dofen Mountain, Awash Fentale district, in the Afar region.
In the Afar region, frequent quakes created a natural hot spring water crater that is reportedly widening.
Confirming the relocation of pastoralists, Ahmed Ibrahim, the zone’s command post coordinator, stated that humanitarian assistance is being provided to those affected by the relocation process.
“The Kesem Dam, constructed to mitigate land erosion, is designed to withstand earthquakes up to a magnitude of seven on the Richter scale,” said Binyam Wubshat, a representative of the Kesem Dam administration. “No issues related to land displacement have been reported thus far.”
The construction of the Kesem Dam commenced in 2004, and it became operational in 2019. Spanning over 20,000 hectares, the dam has a capacity to hold 500 million cubic meters of water and stands at a height of 94 meters.
Recent reports indicate that the Kesem Sugar Factory, situated in the Dulasa district of the Afar region, has sustained significant damage due to the ongoing earthquakes.
No casualties were reported, but the quakes damaged dozens of homes in Afar.
Saturday’s tremor in Afar resulted in fears of volcanic eruptions after smoke came from vents in the Dofen volcano, signaling potential volcanic activity.
“The government is closely monitoring the events with experts in the field. In addition, it has identified the epicenter of the earthquake and deployed emergency workers from various fields in 12 localities to assess the extent of the damage,” the statement from Ethiopia’s government said.
MG/as/APA