Awash town in Afar Region of Ethiopia at threat of flooding after earthquakes
It will cost upwards of 10,000 Euro – $14,820 Canadian – to cover the cost of fuel needed to transport 42,000 residents from the Awash area using local vehicles. Donations can be made through APDA.
Affectionately referred to as ‘Mother of Afar,’ Valerie Browning is an Australian nurse and midwife who went to Ethiopia in 1973 and stayed (2024) Credit: APDA Facebook
Ethiopia is a region of the world that receives very little attention from Western countries. As of January 4, 2025, volcanic tremors – small earthquakes -- have prompted the evacuation of upwards of 80,000 people from the Afar, Oromia and Amhara regions.
According to Valerie Browning, Program Coordinator of Afar Pastoralist Development Association (APDA) and co-founder of the Barbara May Foundation (BMF), the southern Afar Region has been experiencing rumblings since late September, but as of January 1, 2025 the tremors have increased from three to 15 per day and are gaining strength.
Browning and APDA, a non-governmental organization, are located in the Afar Region and the Australian-born nurse told Small Change via email that people need to be moved out of the area for safety reasons.
There is substantial fear that the local dam located on the Togla River, a tributary of the Awash River, will burst causing massive flooding. However, it will cost upwards of 10,000 Euro – $14,820 Canadian – to cover the cost of fuel needed to transport 42,000 residents from the Awash area using local vehicles.
“APDA’s director is there, the government has formed a response team in Awash town. However, the population needs to be moved with speed, the government having selected where, since the dam supporting the sugar factory in Sabore is at imminent risk of breaking flooding a vast populated area,” Browning wrote.
Afar region earthquake visit from the Ethiopian Disaster Risk Management Commission (EDRMC) Credit: Photo provided by APDA
The affected areas are within 35 kilometers of Awash a market town in central Ethiopia. The people in danger are both farmers and pastoralists. The government wants to move them approximately 30 kilometers north into Ami Bara.
At the time of writing, 170 houses, 9 elementary schools, a mosque and one health center are considered unsafe and the health workers and teachers have fled the area. Surrounding roads are full of fissures.
Photo: Destroyed home Credit: Photo provided by APDA
Immediate needs include funds for fuel to move people – APDA will use its three available trucks; along with health teams for the displaced and much needed medications; as well as food especially for small children, elders and chronically ill folk.
Photo: Truck for transporting people and supplies out of the affected area Credit: APDA
To really understand what is happening in Afar Region it’s important to know that the northern district of Daalol sits at the start of the East Africa Rift Valley. Situated at the meeting point of three tectonic plates — the African, Arabian, and Somali plates — the region is one of the few places on Earth where continental rifting occurs, resulting in significant tectonic and volcanic activity. Seismic activity is common in the area because the volcano known as Erta Ale, or Smoking Mountain, is constantly active.
The region has numerous hot springs, steaming geysers, bubbling mud and crater lakes. However, residents have learned to live with and adapt their agricultural practices to the volcanic soil and their housing to withstand the heat and ash emitted by Erta Ale.
The current activity started on September 27th with an initial tremor in the town of Sabure kebele with subsequent tremors reported over the ensuing days, culminating in the major earthquake with a magnitude of 5.1 on October 6th.
Photo: Volcanic gas pouring out of the ground Credit: APDA
Haawa Ali from Dooho in Awash Fantale district told Small Change via video, the first quake happened at 1 am while her family was sleeping. That caused much panic with people vomiting and literally fainting from the fear.
Ali said people who were already sick became critical because of fear. They had been waiting for a way out after being surrounded by gas pouring from the ground while enduring repeated earthquakes.
January 6, 2025, Ali said they found an APDA truck and were able to leave the area, but found themselves sleeping out in the open. That's because Ali, and others, were wandering around on foot looking for a way to escape. That meant they were not able to bring any belongings or supplies with them and now they face the reality of having no food, no shelter, nor other supports. Ali said there are still people trapped inside the affected area.
During the second phase of the earthquake there continues to be over 10 tremors per day with magnitudes of 5.1. Earth fissures of varying sizes dispel apparently dangerous gases and steam. A couple of new crater lakes have also formed. The dam, now a major cause of concern, is part of the Awash River complex and in addition to well founded fears of flooding in the area, there is fear that the water may be contaminated with volcanic chemicals causing the entire Awash River system to be poisonous.
Photo: Getting water from a tanker truck with tents in background Credit: APDA
Folks are being relocated to areas that can be farmed and APDA is assisting the new settlers with getting crops into the ground in order to alleviate demands for food. But even that requires time and patience while there is so much need all around.
Donations to APDA can be made through:
Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, Samara Branch
Account name: APDA Emergency Response
Account number: 1000451985853
For more information on the important work Afar Pastoralist Development Association does watch Celebrating 30 years.
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