Seismo-Volcanic Crises Across the Red Sea and East African Rifts: The Critical Role of New Projects and International Collaborations in Data-Poor Regions

Abstract

In recent years, segments of the Red Sea Rift System (Erta Ale, Hayli Gubbie, areas around Atsbi) and the East African Rift System (Fentale) have experienced intensified seismo-volcanic activity, highlighting the urgent need for enhanced monitoring across Ethiopia’s tectonically active regions. Between July and August 2025, Erta Ale underwent a significant magmatic and diking episode propagating southward toward Afder, followed by renewed activity culminating in the November 2025 eruption at Hayli Gubbie, 11.6km southeast of the Erta Ale lava lake. In the region around Atsbi, seismic sequences in October 2025 appear primarily seismo-tectonic, though potential deeper magmatic involvement remains uncertain. On the other hand, the Fentale region of the East African Rift System exhibited sustained seismicity and deformation from September 2024 to March 2025, affecting nearby communities and infrastructure. Despite the scientific significance of these events, Ethiopia faces challenges in maintaining and expanding geophysical and geodetic monitoring due to limited local resources and occasional constraints on field accessibility, which can affect instrument installation, maintenance, and rapid response, delaying situational awareness and complicating decision-making. This study emphasizes the essential role of collaborative partnerships and new international scientific projects, including shared remote-sensing initiatives, expanded seismic and geodetic networks, technical training, and open-data frameworks, in bridging monitoring gaps, improving early-warning and emergency-response capabilities, and building long-term resilience in Ethiopia’s data-poor and resource-constrained rift environments.