Eruption of long-dormant Ethiopian volcano subsides
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — Volcanic activity at the long-dormant Hayli Gubbi volcano in northern Ethiopia calmed on Tuesday, days after an eruption that left a trail of destruction in nearby villages and caused flight cancellations after plumes of ash disrupted high-altitude flight paths.
Villages in Afdera district in the Afar region were covered in ash, authorities said residents were coughing and grass and livestock water were completely covered.
Airlines canceled dozens of flights planned to fly over affected areas as the weather department said ash clouds were expected to dissipate later in the day.
India’s national airline, Air India, said it canceled 11 flights, mostly international, on Monday and Tuesday to inspect planes that may have flown over affected areas, acting in accordance with a directive from India’s aviation safety regulator.
Another Indian operator, Akasa Air, said it had canceled flights to Middle Eastern destinations such as Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; Kuwait; and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.
At least seven international flights scheduled to depart and arrive at New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport were canceled on Tuesday, while at least a dozen were delayed, according to an airport official.
Abedella Mussa, health official in Ethiopia’s northern Afdera district, said residents were coughing and mobile medical services from the greater Afar region had been launched in the isolated area.
“Two medical teams have been dispatched to affected kebeles (neighborhoods) like Fia and Nemma-Gubi to provide mobile medical services,” he said.
Another livestock official, Nuur Mussa, said the animals were unable to find clean water or grass. “Many animals, especially in the two affected kebeles, cannot drink clean water or feed on grass because it is covered in volcanic ash,” he explained.
Atalay Ayele, a geologist at Addis Ababa University, said such eruptions occur because Ethiopia is located along an active rift system where volcanism and earthquakes are common.
“This is the first recorded eruption of Hayli Gubbi in the last 10,000 years,” he told the Associated Press. “This will probably continue for a short period of time and then stop until the next cycle.”
Strong winds carried the ash cloud from Ethiopia across the Red Sea, Yemen, Oman, the Arabian Sea, and then to western and northern India, the Indian Meteorological Department said in a statement. The ash cloud was heading towards China and was expected to clear Indian skies on Tuesday evening.
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Roy wrote from New Delhi.
