Series of Ethiopia Earthquakes Trigger Evacuations

People view a truck that fell off the Gelan Bridge as it was returning from a wedding ceremony in the southern Sidama region of Ethiopia, Monday, Dec. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Str)
People view a truck that fell off the Gelan Bridge as it was returning from a wedding ceremony in the southern Sidama region of Ethiopia, Monday, Dec. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Str)
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Series of Ethiopia Earthquakes Trigger Evacuations

People view a truck that fell off the Gelan Bridge as it was returning from a wedding ceremony in the southern Sidama region of Ethiopia, Monday, Dec. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Str)
People view a truck that fell off the Gelan Bridge as it was returning from a wedding ceremony in the southern Sidama region of Ethiopia, Monday, Dec. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Str)

Evacuations were underway in Ethiopia Saturday after a series of earthquakes, the strongest of which, a 5.8-magnitude jolt, rocked the remote north of the Horn of Africa nation.

The quakes were centered on the largely rural Afar, Oromia and Amhara regions after months of intense seismic activity, AFP reported.

No casualties have been reported so far.

Ethiopia's government Communication Service said around 80,000 people were living in the affected regions and the most vulnerable were being moved to temporary shelters.

"The earthquakes are increasing in terms of magnitude and recurrences," it said in a statement, adding that experts had been dispatched to assess the damage.

The Ethiopian Disaster Risk Management Commission said 20,573 people had been evacuated to safer areas in Afar and Oromia, from a tally of over 51,000 "vulnerable" people.

Plans were underway to move more than 8,000 people in Oromia "in the coming days", the agency said in a statement.

The latest shallow 4.7 magnitude quake hit just before 12:40 pm (0940 GMT) about 33 kilometers north of Metehara town in Oromia, according to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre.

The earthquakes have damaged houses and threatened to trigger a volcanic eruption of the previously dormant Mount Dofan, near Segento in the northeast Afar region.

The crater has stopped releasing plumes of smoke, but nearby residents have left their homes in panic.

Earthquakes are common in Ethiopia due to its location along the Great Rift Valley, one of the world's most seismically active areas.

Experts have said the tremors and eruptions are being caused by the expansion of tectonic plates under the Great Rift Valley.



Iran Agrees to Fourth Round of Indirect Nuclear Talks with US on Sunday

An Iranian woman walks next to a wall painting on a street in Tehran, Iran, 07 May 2025. (EPA)
An Iranian woman walks next to a wall painting on a street in Tehran, Iran, 07 May 2025. (EPA)
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Iran Agrees to Fourth Round of Indirect Nuclear Talks with US on Sunday

An Iranian woman walks next to a wall painting on a street in Tehran, Iran, 07 May 2025. (EPA)
An Iranian woman walks next to a wall painting on a street in Tehran, Iran, 07 May 2025. (EPA)

Iran has agreed to hold a fourth round of indirect nuclear talks with the United States on Sunday in Oman, the semi-official Tasnim News Agency reported on Friday, citing a member of the Iranian team.

The fourth round of negotiations, initially scheduled for May 3 in Rome, was postponed, with mediator Oman citing "logistical reasons".

"Following a proposal by the Omani foreign minister to hold the fourth round of talks on Sunday, Tehran has announced its agreement," Tasnim quoted the unnamed member of Iran's delegation as saying. "The fourth round of Iran-US talks in Oman has been finalized."

US President Donald Trump, who withdrew the US from a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, has threatened to bomb Iran if no agreement is reached with his administration to resolve the long-standing dispute.

Western countries say Iran's nuclear program is geared toward producing weapons, whereas Iran insists it is purely for civilian purposes.