‘It felt like a bomb’: Ethiopia volcano eruption leaves villages under ash

“While no human lives and livestock have been lost so far, many villages have been covered in ash and as a result their animals have little to eat,” he told AP.

Also read: Ethiopia Volcano Eruption Tracker LIVE Updates: Hayli Gubbi volcano ash unlikely to have impact on Delhi AQI, says IMD

He also said there was no known record of the volcano erupting before.

‘It felt like a bomb’

The Afar region often experiences earthquakes, and one resident said the sound of the eruption was sudden and strong. Ahmed Abdela told AP he heard a loud noise and felt what he described as a shock wave. “It felt like a sudden bomb had been thrown with smoke and ash,” he said.

Abdela said the village near the Danakil desert was still covered in ash on Monday. Tourists and guides travelling to the desert were stranded in the village, he added.

Also read: Ethiopia volcano LIVE map: Track Hayli Gubbi eruption, movement, impact and hit areas

The Toulouse Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre in France confirmed the eruption after observing it on satellite images. Local authorities also shared photos and videos showing ash rising high from the volcano.

Meanwhile, locals told AP that there is no previous record of this volcano erupting. The Smithsonian Institution’s Global Volcanism Program confirmed that Hayli Gubbi had no known activity during the Holocene period, which began around 12,000 years ago. Satellite images reviewed by the Toulouse Volcanic Ash Advisory Center showed ash rising up to 14 km and drifting westward.