A magnitude-4.3 earthquake struck the lakeside city of Awassa, the southern region’s capital, on Sunday evening.
The earthquake that shook Awassa town Sunday evening was felt in the nearby towns such as Shashemene, Alaba Kulitu and Yirgalem, according to various reports. The earthquake lies at a depth of 10 km, said theGEOFON program.
The earthquake knocked items off shelves and walls in Awassa, jolting the nerves of residents in this earthquake-prone region.The town experienced intense and prolonged tremors, according to some version, five times, causing panic in areas. “The quake was felt very strongly for two seconds,” a business owner in the town said. “Residents panicked and rushed out of their homes.”
As of writing, no official reports of significant damages to infrastructures or any reports of casualties and injuries have surfaced. However, local residents told Ethiopia Observer that ambulance sirens were heard throughout the town, especially transporting injured students from the Awassa University main campus. A lecturer at the University told Ethiopia Observer that a number of students were hurt following a stampede while trying to escape the dormitories and libraries occasioned by earthquake. Mayor of Hawassa town, Tedros Gelil, told state media that about 100 students sustained minor injuries.
There were reports of scattered power outages in Awassa and surrounding towns last night. Awassa, 275km south of Addis Ababa and 25km south of Shashemene, is situated on the main Ethiopian Rift Valley, which is a hotbed of tremors and active volcanoes.
Experts say the Ethiopian Rift Valley contains evidence of recent and ongoing geological activity in the form of young volcanoes, fresh fault scarps, steaming vents, pulsing hot springs and occasional earthquakes.
A 7.1 magnitude earthquake has also struck southern Alaska while A 6.1 magnitude earthquake has been recorded in the Mediterranean Sea south-east of Malaga, Spain.
According to the Independent report a powerful 7.1 magnitude earthquake has struck remote southern Alaska, unleashing tremors felt several hundred miles (km) from the epicentre near Anchorage, the state’s largest city. No injuries were reported, but several neighborhoods in the town of Kenai – roughly halfway between the quake’s centre and Anchorage – were temporarily evacuated after a gas explosion damaged four homes several hours later, a city spokesman said. As of Sunday night, local utility company Enstar was still investigating whether the earthquake triggered a gas leak believed to have caused the blast, company spokesman John Sims said.
Mean while, The Independent has also reported a 6.1 magnitude earthquake has been recorded in the Mediterranean Sea, 100 miles south-east of Malaga, Spain.
Dr Atalay Ayele, Earthquake Science Expert at Addis Ababa University (AAU), told Fana Broadcasing Corporate that the earthquake happened twice. He said studies are underway to give detail information about the incident. The vibration was felt in towns located in the surroundings. Mayor of Hawassa town, Tedros Gelil, said about 100 students of Hawassa University sustained minor injuries while trying to run away from their dormitories during the earthquake.
About 90 of the students have returned to their education after receiving first aid treatment, he said. The earthquake also caused cracks in some buildings located in the town.
