Shallow M5.2 AFTERSHOCK hit near Gelemso in Ethiopia on Saturday Evening.

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

In the evening of Saturday January 11th, 2025, a shallow and significant M5.2 aftershock hit under land 26 kilometer from Gelemso in Ethiopia.

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Earthquake Summary

The earthquake struck on land in Ethiopia, 26 kilometer (16 mi) northwest of Gelemso in Oromiya. 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 06:19PM (Addis Ababa Time) - Jan 11, 2025 15:19 Universal Time.
Location:	26 km NW of Gelemso, Oromiya, Ethiopia. Coordinates 8°59'20"N 40°21'35"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.2 Detected by 22 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.066 .
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 . The closest significant population center near the earthquake is Gelemso in Oromiya, Ethiopia. Gelemso is located 26 kilometer (16 mi) northwest of the epicenter.

Multiple large cities are in proximity of today's earthquake. Addis Ababa is located 177 km to the west. Nazrēt is located 130 km to the west-southwest. Dire Dawa is located 178 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 9 people

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 9 people have reported shaking in 2 places 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: 8 people.
• Āwash, Afar, Ethiopia: 1 person.

This is likely an aftershock

Approximately 15 hrs before this earthquake hit, a larger 5.2 magnitude earthquake struck 37 km (23 mi) northwest of this one. For that reason, we classify the Mag. 5.2 earthquake as an aftershock.

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

More earthquakes coming?

Aftershocks are usually at least 1 order of magnitude less strong than main shocks. The more time passes, the smaller the chance and likely strength of any potential aftershocks.

The chance that a significant earthquake like this one is followed by an even larger earthquake is not so large. On average, scientists estimate a 94% chance that a major earthquake will not be followed by an even larger one. It is still adviced to be aware of this risk

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 16:18 (). This article is automatically generated based on available data. We keep checking multiple sources for additional information. This article gets updated as new details on this earthquake become available.

1. US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us6000pjfb
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20250111_0000220
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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