Daily Times

Under a makeshift shelter, Moussa Akele kills time chewing the stimulant khat, wondering where his family will get its next meal after fleeing a series of earthquakes that have shaken several regions of Ethiopia.

The 40-year-old was at home in Kabanna in the Afar region, about 250 kilometres (155 miles) northeast of the capital Addis Ababa, when an earthquake struck in late December.

“It caused widespread panic and destroyed our houses. People were terrified,” he said.

Ethiopia’s Rift Valley is one of the most seismically active regions in the world.

For several weeks, frequent tremors, including one measuring 5.8 on the Richter scale, have been shaking the rural regions of Afar and Oromia.

There are fears they could cause a major dam to collapse or lead to the eruption of a volcano, Mount Dofan, so the authorities have evacuated tens of thousands of people. Akele, who worked in a sugar factory, found refuge with his family about 20 km from Kabanna. Like several thousand others, they now live in a tent pitched in the middle of arid vegetation.

“We were evacuated from our good and peaceful life and are now living in survival mode,” he said.

Trucks loaded with water and food arrive regularly, “but there are a lot of people and it’s not enough,” he added. Most of the displaced are pastoralists, who had to leave their livestock behind.