- A volcano in Ethiopia's Afar region erupted for the first time in nearly 12,000 years
- The eruption sent ash and smoke plumes up to 14 km high, drifting toward Yemen and Oman
- An eyewitness said he heard a very loud noise when the volcano erupted
A long-dormant volcano erupted in Ethiopia's north-eastern region for the first time in nearly 12,000 years, sending thick plumes of ash and smoke up to 9 miles (14 km) into the sky and across the Red Sea toward Yemen and Oman. The Hayli Gubbi volcano, located in Ethiopia's earthquake-prone Afar region, erupted for several hours on Sunday morning, leaving the nearby village of Afdera, a tourist attraction, covered in ash.
Ahmed Abdela, a resident of the Afar region, said he heard a loud sound and what he described as a shock wave after the volcano erupted.
"It felt like a sudden bomb had been thrown with smoke and ash," Abdela said.
The Afdera village was still covered in ash on Monday, and tourists and guides heading to the nearby Danakil desert were stranded in the village, according to Abdela.
Mohammed Seid, a local administrator, said there were no casualties, but the eruption could have economic implications for the local community of livestock herders.
Seid told The Associated Press that there was no previous record of an eruption by the Hayli Gubbi volcano and that he fears for the livelihoods of residents.
"While no human lives and livestock have been lost so far, many villages have been covered in ash, and as a result, their animals have little to eat," he said.
Ashes Drift To India, Pak
The volcano, which rises about 500 metres in altitude, sits within the Rift Valley, a zone of intense geological activity where two tectonic plates meet. After the sudden eruption, ash clouds from the volcano drifted over Yemen, Oman, India, and northern Pakistan, said the Toulouse Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC) in France, which observed the eruption on satellite imagery.
In videos shared on social media, which NDTV could not independently verify, a thick column of white smoke can be seen rising.
'First Known Eruption'
The Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Program said Hayli Gubbi has had no known eruptions during the Holocene, which began around 12,000 years ago at the end of the last Ice Age.
Simon Carn, a volcanologist and professor at Michigan Technological University, confirmed on Bluesky that Hayli Gubbi "has no record of Holocene eruptions".
