Professor Abbas Sharaky, a Geology and Water Resources professor at Cairo University, reported that Ethiopia experienced a 4.9 magnitude earthquake on Monday.
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Professor Abbas Sharaky warned that this could have serious repercussions.
According to Al-Shorouk newspaper, Sharaky mentioned that while the earthquake’s strength is moderate, its magnitude is significant for the African region, which lacks the necessary preparations to handle earthquakes, unlike countries like Japan.
The impact of this earthquake is especially problematic for huge dams such as the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) which holds 35 billion cubic meters of water, warning that a crack in the dam will lead to a flood in Sudan.
East Africa is considered the most active seismic region in the African continent, he said, stressing the importance of understanding the nature of these regions when establishing any projects there, specifically water projects that will cause major disasters if they are cracked or damaged – something which Ethiopia does not even imagine.
Professor Abbas Sharaky cited the collapse of the two dams surrounding the city of Derna in northern Libya as a result of Hurricane Daniel in 2023, warning that the size of the GERD is equivalent to them “15,000 times.”
