Authorities have begun to evacuate residents in northeastern after a volcano showed , officials said Friday.
Civilians from the Afar region were relocated to temporary shelters, according to the state-owned Fana Broadcasting, which quoted a regional administrator in the area.
Shiferaw Teklemariam, Commissioner of the Ethiopian Disaster Risk Management Commission, said it was premature to describe the activity as an eruption, adding that authorities were exercising caution.
“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 ,” he told Reuters.
Officials warn of possible volcanic eruption
The Ethiopian Geological Institute shared a video on its Facebook page showing what appeared to be dust and smoke rising from the long-dormant volcano of Mount Dofen.
However, not all triggers of volcanic activity lead to full-blown eruptions.
Region prone to earthquakes and tremors
A magnitude 5.8 earthquake, which occurred at a depth of about 10 kilometers (6 miles), hit Ethiopia on Saturday, according to the US Geological Survey and the German Research Centre for Geosciences.
The same area also saw a magnitude 5.5 quake on Friday, said the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre.
Dozens of earthquakes and tremors have been recorded in the area in recent months.
ess/rm (Reuters, AP, AFP)
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