Magnitude 4.9 earthquake hits Djibouti

By Mohammed Dhaysane

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AA) - A magnitude 4.9 earthquake hit small Horn of Africa nation Djibouti on Thursday morning.

The government of Djibouti, which confirmed the earthquake, said that the earthquake shook Djibouti around 4:22 a.m. local time with an intensity of 4.9 degrees on the Richter scale.

“Since 7 a.m., we have felt two aftershocks of lesser intensity. The epicenter of the earthquake is located 18km north of the Gulf of Tadjourah”, Djibouti Foreign Minister Mahamoud Ali Youssouf said in a short statement on X after the quake.

No casualties have been reported so far.

A statement issued by the Ministry of Education said the schools and vocational training centers in the country have been closed.

“Due to the earthquakes, to prevent any risk linked to aftershocks, public and private schools, as well as vocational training centers, are closed”, the statement said.

Residents in the capital city, Djibouti, who spoke to Anadolu via phone, reported that the Red Sea earthquake on Thursday was felt by many areas of the country.

It has been reported that the quake has been felt as far as Aden and Taiz in Yemen.