Author: Gemechu Bedassa Teferi, Lecturer, Department of Geology , Addis Ababa Science & Technology University

A swarm of earth tremors and fears of volcanic eruptions in January forced tens of thousands of people to move away from Awash Fentale, an area in the Afar region of Ethiopia. The area falls within a geologically active region of the Great Rift Valley that has experienced a number of earthquakes and volcanic events in the last 800 years. Two major volcanic eruptions occurred in 1250 and 1820 AD. What’s unfolded in Fentale in 2025 is part of an ongoing process millions of years in the making, deep under the earth’s surface. Scientists see it as a fascinating natural…