AFAR, Ethiopia — The long-dormant Hayli Gubbi volcano in Ethiopia’s Afar region erupted on Sunday for the first time in nearly 12,000 years, sending ash plumes up to 14 kilometres into the sky and drifting across the Red Sea toward Yemen and Oman.
The eruption lasted several hours, leaving the nearby village of Afdera covered in dust. Local administrator Mohammed Seid said there were no casualties but warned of economic consequences for livestock herders. “Many villages have been covered in ash and as a result their animals have little to eat,” he said.
Witness Accounts
Residents reported hearing a loud sound and feeling a shock wave. “It felt like a sudden bomb had been thrown with smoke and ash,” said Ahmed Abdela, a local resident.
Global Impact
The Toulouse Volcanic Ash Advisory Center reported Monday evening that the ash cloud had reached northern India and was “moving quickly” toward China.
The Smithsonian Institution’s Global Volcanism Program confirmed that Hayli Gubbi had no known eruptions during the Holocene epoch, which began about 12,000 years ago at the end of the last ice age.