Egyptian expert Abbas Sharaki confirmed to Al Arabiya.net that such earthquakes will have a significant impact in the event that the strength of any of them reaches 5 on the Richter, and in the presence of a large stock of water in the dam.
Yesterday, Monday, Ethiopia was hit by a 4.4-magnitude earthquake at a depth of 9.8 km, which again raised fears that the earthquakes in the country would lead to a collapse. AlNahda dam And then flooding the surrounding areas and Sudan.
According to what the Egyptian expert Abbas Sharqi says, yesterday’s earthquake is the closest to the site of the Renaissance Dam from the earthquakes that Ethiopia has suffered during the last 100 years, as its epicenter is only about 100 km from the dam and about 420 km from Addis Ababa, stressing that such earthquakes will have a significant impact on A case if the strength of any of them reaches 5 Richter, and in the presence of a large stock of water in the dam.
Sharaki told Al-Arabiya.net that the African Rift region, which divides Ethiopia into two halves, is the African region most vulnerable to earthquakes and volcanoes, and the average depth of earthquakes in Ethiopia ranges from 12 to 30 kilometers, and therefore fears may be confirmed if an earthquake occurs and the quantities of water stored in the dam Very large, indicating that the storage of 74 billion cubic meters according to what Addis Ababa plans to mean that the dam will weigh 74 billion tons, while it is located in an area with cracks, and therefore water may seep into these cracks and help in the occurrence of slips and collapses.
The Egyptian expert reveals that many scientific studies have warned of a landslide at the site of the dam, especially since Ethiopia is one of the countries most suffering from severe soil erosion, in addition to the fact that the waters of the Blue Nile descend sharply from 1,800 meters at Lake Tana to 500 meters at the Renaissance Dam, which constitutes floods. He pointed out that the dam and the lake are located on faults from the Cambrian period, in addition to the rocks of the dam area being “granite” and highly decomposed.
It is noteworthy that a few weeks ago, Ethiopia had announced again that it had finished building 90% of the dam, amid the escalation of the crisis with the downstream countries of Egypt and Sudan due to the lack of agreement on filling and operation, and Addis Ababa taking a unilateral decision to act without advice or coordination with the two countries.
Recent satellite images revealed a decrease in the level of the dam lake by about 10 meters and a water discharge of about 7 billion cubic meters, with expectations that Ethiopia will increase the height of the middle corridor of the dam in preparation for the fourth storage.
2023-05-09 09:06:19
#Exclusive #earthquake #shakes #Ethiopia. #Grand #Ethiopian #Renaissance #Dam #collapse