Ethiopia, January 5: A moderate 4.5-magnitude earthquake struck northern Ethiopia on Sunday evening, January 4, causing widespread alarm across the Tigray and Afar regions. While the tremor was felt intensely in several major urban centers, local authorities and monitoring agencies have not reported any immediate casualties or major structural damage.

The earthquake occurred at approximately 11:05 PM local time (20:05 UTC), according to data from Volcano Discovery and the USGS. The epicenter was identified roughly 60 kilometers northeast of Mekelle, the capital of the Tigray region, at a relatively shallow depth of 10 kilometers. Mexico: Earthquake of Magnitude 6.4 Hits Guerrero.

Earthquake of Magnitude 4.5 Hits Tigray and Afar Regions

Residents in multiple cities reported feeling the ground shake for several seconds. Impacted areas include:

  • Tigray Region: Mekelle, Adigrat, Axum, Shire, Maychew, Wukro, and Adwa.

  • Afar Region: Parts of the neighboring northern Afar lowlands.

    Social media was quickly flooded with reports from residents who described a "sudden, heavy rumbling" followed by shaking that rattled furniture and windows. In Mekelle, some residents reported being awakened by their beds shaking, while others in Adigrat described the noise as "frighteningly loud."

Despite the panic, the shaking was categorized as "weak" to "light" in most populated areas, which likely contributed to the lack of significant structural failures in reinforced buildings. Earthquake of Magnitude 5.4 Strikes Indian Ocean.

Geological Context

Northern Ethiopia is situated in one of the most tectonically active zones in the world—the Afar Triple Junction. This is the meeting point of the Nubian, Somali, and Arabian plates, which are slowly pulling apart as part of the East African Rift System.

This latest tremor follows a period of heightened seismic activity in the region. In late 2025, northern Ethiopia experienced a series of stronger earthquakes, including "twin" tremors that reached a 5.6 magnitude, which displaced thousands of people and damaged infrastructure in the Afar and Oromia regions.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 05, 2026 04:50 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).