M 5.2 in Ethiopia on 11 Jan 2025 00:19 UTC

Event summary

This earthquake can have a medium humanitarian impact based on the magnitude and the affected population and their vulnerability.

GDACS ID EQ 1461707
Earthquake Magnitude: 5.2M
Glide number: EQ-2025-000008-ETH
Depth: 10 Km
Lat/Lon: 9.2627 , 40.1665
Event Date: 11 Jan 2025 00:19 UTC
11 Jan 2025 03:19 Local
Exposed Population:
10 thousand (in MMI>=VII)
Inserted at: 11 Jan 2025 00:52 UTC
INFORM Coping capacity:
6.8 (Ethiopia)

GDACS Score

For more info on GDACS alert score click here.
  Earthquake
(Rapid Impact)		 GDACS score
NEIC 1.1 1.1
us6000pjby Scaled population (vector) 2.91  
  C1 rapid impact -0.59  
  C2 rapid impact 0.53  
  Country Vulnerability 0  
  INFORM_normalised 1.2  
Maximum expected impact using different data sources.
Virtual OSOCC
Meteo assessment
Satellite products
Analytical products
Ethiopia - Seismic and volcanic activity, update (ECHO 17 Jan 2025)Mon, 13 Jan 2025 12:20

  • The intense seismic activity that has been affecting the southern Afar and northern Oromia regions, near the Fentale and the Dofan volcanoes in the Main Ethiopian Rift, continues.
  • About 50 earthquakes of magnitude 4.2 to 5.8 have been recorded between 4 and 10 January 2025; the most recent one, of 5.2 M, was reported on 11 January at 00:19 UTC (03:19 local time) at a depth of 10 km, approximately 160 km north-eastern of Addis Ababa.
  • According to UN OCHA, as of 11 January, at least two people have been injured by the seismic activity, more than 60,000 people have been evacuated, including 51,456 registered and partially evacuated in Afar and 20,325 in Oromia, and emergency shelters have been set up. Significant damage has also been recorded, with 16 schools severely damaged, and 21 partially.
  • On 10 January, UNEP/OCHA Joint Environment Unit requested assistance via the Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM) for expertise in civil engineering and geology, supporting the situational assessment and the overall response for managing the consequences of the volcanic and seismic activities.
  • Two ECHO-supported Rapid Response Mechanism partners are preparing to respond in Afar. 
Detailed event map. European Union, 2025. Map produced by EC-JRC.
The boundaries and the names shown on this map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the European Union.

Updates on volcanic activity (Smithsonian)

Latest media headlines

Moderate mag. 4.3 earthquake - 16 km northwest of Metehara, Oromiya, E.. 1/15/2025 12:08:00 AM.

Nearby places The closest larger town where the quake might have been felt is Nazret , a city with more than 210,000 inhabitants in Ethiopia , in 80 km (50 mi) distance southwest of the epicenter. People likely experienced weak shaking ther
...(more)
Moderate magnitude 4.8 quake hits 7 km west of Metehara, Ethiopia in t.. 1/14/2025 3:25:00 PM.

A magnitude 4.8 earthquake near Metehara, Oromiya, Ethiopia, was reported only 22 minutes ago by the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), considered one of the key international agencies that monitor seismic activity worldwid
...(more)
Strong mag. 5.2 earthquake - Ethiopia on Tuesday, Jan 14, 2025, at 05:.. 1/14/2025 3:07:00 PM.

We are receiving unverified early reports of ground shaking possibly caused by seismic activity in or near Addis Ababa, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 14 Jan 2025 (GMT) at approximately 14:52 GMT. There are no details yet on the magnitude or dept
...(more)
Moderate mag. 4.5 earthquake - 16 km southwest of Awash, Afar, Ethiopi.. 1/14/2025 2:50:00 PM.

Nearby places The closest larger town where the quake might have been felt is Nazret , a city with more than 210,000 inhabitants in Ethiopia , in 97 km (60 mi) distance southwest of the epicenter. People likely experienced weak shaking ther
...(more)

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Estimated casualties (PAGER)

USGS estimates the number of casualties for each earthquake for the Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquakes for Response (PAGER) product.
The graph shows the current fatalities estimate.

Exposed population

Data, images, links, services and documents

For this events, GDACS has links to information from the following sources: EC-JRC (41), (3), NEIC (4), OCHA (1), INGV (1), WMO (1), INFORM (2), USGS (2),