Shallow M5.2 AFTERSHOCK struck on Saturday Night 158km from Addis Ababa in Ethiopia.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on January 11th, 2025. Last updated January 20th, 2025.

Under land 158 kilometer from Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, a shallow and significant Magnitude 5.2 aftershock occurred deep in the night of Saturday January 11th, 2025.

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Earthquake Summary

The earthquake struck on land in Ethiopia, 158 kilometer (98 mi) east of Addis Ababa. The center of this earthquake had a very shallow depth of 10 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Jan 11, 2025 03:19AM (Addis Ababa Time) - Jan 11, 2025 00:19 Universal Time.
Location:	158 km east of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Coordinates 9°15'46"N 40°9'59"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.2 Detected by 74 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.067 .
Depth:	10 km (6 mi) A very shallow depth.
Tsunami Risk:	Tsunami very unlikely While this was a shallow earthquake, it appears to have occurred under land with a magnitude not strong enough to cause tsunami's. Always stay cautious - More info here.

Nearby towns and cities

This earthquake may have been felt in Ethiopia . Metahāra in Oromiya, Ethiopia is the nearest significant place from the epicenter. The earthquake occurred 49 kilometer (30 mi) north-east of Metahāra.

Multiple major population centers exist within 300km of the earthquake that struck today. Addis Ababa is located 158 km to the west. Nazrēt is located 127 km to the southwest. Dire Dawa is located 190 km to the east-northeast.

An overview of nearby towns and cities is available in the overview below.

Overview of nearby places

Shaking reported by 18 people

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 18 people have reported shaking in one place in Ethiopia.We keep updating this article as more ground reports become available. You may report that you felt this earthquake here.

Places with most reports:

• Addis Ababa, Addis Abeba, Ethiopia: 18 people.

This is likely an aftershock

Approximately 3 days before this earthquake hit, a larger 5.3 magnitude earthquake struck 34 km (21 mi) south-southwest of this one. For that reason, we classify the Mag. 5.2 earthquake as an aftershock.

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

More earthquakes coming?

The risk of aftershocks decreases rapidly over time. Usually, aftershocks are at least one order of magnitude lower than a main shock.

It's always adviced to be cautious of the risk of a larger shock following any significant earthquake, however this risk is fairly small. There is a roughly 94 percent change that no larger main shock will follow in the days following this earthquake.

Earthquakes like this are common in the region

Earthquakes of this strength occur quite regularly in the region. In total, 4 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.2 or higher have been registered within 300km (186 mi) of this epicenter in the past 10 years. This comes down to an average of once every 3 years.

Tsunami very unlikely

While MAG-6.5+ earthquakes may cause tsunami's, it appears that the epicenter of this earthquake hit under land. In addition, the reported depth is deeper than 100km, making the risk of a tsunami even less likely. However always stay cautious and monitor advice from local authorities.

Tsunami Risk Factors

Sources

Last updated 20/01/25 00:48 (). As more information on this earthquake becomes available this article will be updated. This article is automatically composed based on data originating from multiple sources.

1. US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us6000pjby
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20250111_0000004
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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