By Shire Abdi - Reporter
Ethiopia, 5 January 2026 A 4.5-magnitude earthquake struck wide areas of Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region and parts of the Afar region on Sunday evening, according to the earthquake monitoring website Volcano Discovery.
Residents reported feeling the tremor in several cities across Tigray, including Mekelle, Adigrat, Axum, Shire, Maychew, Wukro, Adi Gudom, Idaga Hamus, and Adwa, as well as in neighboring areas of the Afar region. The website said the earthquake’s epicenter was located approximately 60 kilometers northeast of Mekelle.
Eyewitnesses cited by the monitoring site said the quake was felt with varying intensity across multiple areas, but no immediate reports of casualties or material damage had been recorded at the time of publication.
More from Somalia
The earthquake comes amid heightened seismic activity in northern Ethiopia in recent months. In October last year, a series of strong earthquakes struck the Tigray and Afar regions, causing significant damage to infrastructure and displacing residents.
Authorities continue to monitor the situation, amid calls to strengthen preparedness and response measures to natural disaster risks in the affected areas.
