Hundreds of residents in a rural area of Ethiopia, approximately 165km (100 miles) northeast of the capital, Addis Ababa, are fleeing their homes in fear of a potential volcanic eruption.
The panic follows alarming signs of activity from Mount Dofan, a volcano showing increased seismic and visual activity.
Sultan Kemil, a local chief, described to the BBC’s Afaan Oromoo service how smoke began billowing from the mountain around 17:00 local time (14:00 GMT) on Thursday. “The plume is fiery and rises very high,” he said.
A video shared by the Ethiopian Geological Institute on Facebook shows steam and debris shooting from the mountain, intensifying fears among locals.
The Afar region, where Mount Dofan is located, has experienced over a dozen seismic events in recent weeks, with tremors strong enough to be felt in Addis Ababa.
Abdu Ali, the local administrator, told Ethiopia’s FBC news site that an evacuation process is underway to ensure residents’ safety as earthquakes continue to grow “higher and stronger.”
While authorities have yet to classify the activity as a full eruption, Shiferaw Teklemariam from the Ethiopian Disaster Risk Management Commission told Reuters that precautionary measures are being taken to mitigate risks.
