A long-dormant volcano in Ethiopia’s remote Afar region erupted without warning on Sunday morning, hurling plumes of ash high into the atmosphere and dusting communities across the Red Sea as far as Yemen and Oman.
Hayli Gubbi, a shield volcano in one of the hottest and most geologically restless corners of the planet, had no recorded history of activity until lava and ash began pouring from its crater shortly after dawn. Satellite imagery tracked the plume rising several kilometres before winds carried it northeast.
The nearest settlement, the salt-mining village of Afdera close to the Danakil Depression, woke to a sky turned grey. By midday a thick layer of ash coated roofs, roads and sparse vegetation.
Local administrator Mohammed Seid told the Associated Press that no lives or livestock had been lost, but herders now face a desperate search for grazing land. “Animals have little to eat and water sources are contaminated,” he said. “This could destroy livelihoods that were already fragile.”
Residents described a deafening roar followed by a pressure wave that rattled homes. “It felt like a bomb exploding,” said Ahmed Abdela, who filmed the towering column of ash from his rooftop. “Then everything went dark.”
The eruption also disrupted one of Ethiopia’s most extreme tourism circuits. Dozens of visitors en route to the otherworldly landscapes of Erta Ale and Dallol found themselves stranded in Afdera as ash made roads impassable and breathing difficult.
Scientists say Hayli Gubbi sits on the same tectonic rift that has produced spectacular volcanic activity across Afar in recent years, including the 2021-2023 eruptions at nearby Fentale. The region is slowly tearing apart as the African continent splits, creating new ocean floor in geological slow motion.
While the current eruption appears modest compared with past events, authorities are monitoring seismic stations for signs of escalation. For now, the people of Afdera are sweeping ash from their doorsteps and scanning the horizon for the next cloud on a sky that has suddenly reminded them how thin the line is between survival and catastrophe in one of Earth’s most unforgiving environments.
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