KEY POINTS
- Authorities relocate residents near the Awash Fentale volcano.
- Recent tremors and earthquakes raise concerns of volcanic eruption.
- Ethiopian officials are focused on the safety of their citizens through properly coordinated evacuation.
A volcano in Ethiopia’s northeastern Afar region is showing signs of potential eruption, prompting authorities to relocate residents to temporary shelters.
The Ethiopian Geological Institute posted a video on its Facebook page showing dust and smoke rising from the Awash Fentale volcano: experts and officials expressed their concerns.
Fana Broadcasting, citing a regional administrator in Afar, confirmed the evacuation of residents from the affected area, situated roughly 165 kilometers (102 miles) from Addis Ababa, the capital.
Officials take early action to safeguard communities
Shiferaw Teklemariam, Commissioner of the Ethiopian Disaster Risk Management Commission, emphasized that while it’s too soon to confirm a volcanic eruption, authorities are not taking any risks.
“The community, some are already leaving those areas. We are also preparing to do it in a well-organized manner. It (moving the community) will be done based on predictions,” he told Reuters.
Furthermore, authorities are acting proactively to avoid potential casualties and ensure safety. With the area recently experiencing tremors and earthquakes, the geological activity near Awash Fentale has become a priority for Ethiopia’s disaster management teams.
Geological activity raises concerns in Afar region
Some months ago particularly in the Afar region, there has been considerable activity in terms of earth tremors and quakes that have prompted many to fear that there is about to be volcanic activity.
However, individuals and organizations have experts who keep track of the situation and can make forecasts for accurate predictions and preparations for the result..
Information provided in the videos with the help of the Ethiopian Geological Institute raises an inference that the volcano might be entering an active period, however, to confirm the information more data are required. For now, people are forced to move to safer areas to seek refuge in shelters in case an incident occurs.
Community safety at the forefront of evacuation efforts
Ethiopian officials have said that evacuations are being conducted so that people may not be put in harm’s way.
In addition, there have been emergency structures established for the people who decided to evacuate and the authorities are trying to control the situation to do it as orderly as possible.
The Afar region is very accustomed to some earthquake issues, but the possibility of an active volcano is a whole different thing.
Local leaders and disaster management teams are working hard to ensure that losses and human casualties are kept to the least possible level.
