Magnitude 6.0 Earthquake Strikes Gulf of Aden off Somalia Coast

GOOBJOOG NEWS | MOGADISHU: A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck the Gulf of Aden early on Friday about 145 km north of Caluula district in Somalia’s Bari region, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

The earthquake struck at 12:07 a.m. Somalia time, with its epicentre beneath the seabed at a depth of about 10 km, according to USGS data.

The tremor was felt in parts of Somalia and Yemen, with the USGS recording shaking of intensity 4 on the Modified Mercalli scale. At that level, an earthquake can be clearly felt indoors and may cause doors, windows and other objects to shake.

There were no immediate reports of deaths, injuries or damage to buildings. The epicentre was offshore and relatively distant from populated areas, reducing the likelihood of significant damage.

The earthquake is the latest in a series of seismic events recorded around the Gulf of Aden, a geologically active zone between the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa.

A magnitude 5.1 earthquake was recorded in the broader area off Caluula on June 25, also at a depth of about 10 km beneath the seabed.

The Gulf of Aden lies along a complex tectonic boundary where the Arabian Plate is moving away from the African Plate, generating periodic earthquakes along faults beneath the sea.

Friday’s earthquake highlights the exposure of Somalia’s northern coastline to seismic activity, although the extent of damage from such events depends on factors including depth, distance from populated areas and the strength of buildings.

Seismic monitoring agencies were continuing to track the area for possible aftershocks. No tsunami warning had been issued in connection with the earthquake at the time of reporting.