Yemeni astronomer Adnan Al-Shawafi announced that his previous warnings about the dangers of earthquakes related to the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam have come true, in light of the unprecedented seismic activity that Ethiopia is currently witnessing. Al-Shawafi had warned of these dangers on February 10, 2017, four years before the dam began filling with water.  

Al-Shawafi said in a press statement: “We have warned for years that the Renaissance Dam, which is located in a sensitive area between three tectonic plates (Arab, Somali, and African), may cause serious geological disturbances. Today, we are witnessing unprecedented seismic activity.” In Ethiopia, which confirms the validity of our warnings.”  

He added: “The enormous weight of the water stored in the dam, which is approximately 74 billion cubic metres, is equivalent to the weight of 113 conical mountains of reinforced concrete. This great pressure on the tectonic plates could lead to earthquakes that would not only affect Ethiopia, but their repercussions could extend.” To neighboring countries, including Yemen and the countries bordering the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea.”  

Al-Shawafi continued: “Nature does not tolerate being tampered with, and the current seismic activity in Ethiopia should be an alarm bell for everyone. We need to urgently assess the geological risks associated with the Renaissance Dam, and take preventive measures to avoid greater disasters.”  

It is noteworthy that the Renaissance Dam, which is one of the largest dams in Africa, has sparked widespread controversy since the start of its construction, not only because of its impact on the water resources of downstream countries such as Egypt and Sudan, but also because of its potential environmental and geological impacts.  

Al-Shawafi concluded his speech by saying: “We hope that the concerned authorities will deal with this issue responsibly, and that seismic activity will be carefully monitored. Our warnings were clear years ago, and today we see their results on the ground.”  

Text of the original article as published on February 10, 2017:

((Nature does not tolerate being tampered with... The Renaissance Dam is located between latitudes 11 and 12 and longitudes 34 and 35, at a distance of a few hundred kilometers from the meeting of three tectonic plates of the Arabian Peninsula, Somalia, and Africa. If the dam’s storage capacity is 74 billion A cubic meter of water, this is approximately equivalent to the weight of 113 cone mountains of reinforced concrete, the diameter of the base of each mountain is 1 km and the height of this cone is 1 km In addition to the new weights and the weight of the water that will sink into the ground under pressure exceeding 14 bar... the period required to throw such weights requires dealing responsibly, due to the earthquakes they may cause in Yemen and the neighboring countries overlooking the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea. We are surprised that there are He denies the expectation of earthquakes or neglects this, forgetting several factors, the most important of which is the period of filling the dam, which suddenly affects the relative stability of the tectonic plates. The Renaissance Dam may be neither the first dam in the world nor the largest In the world... but when we talk about earthquakes, we link the effect of weight to the location of the dam on the tectonic plates and its relationship to the neighboring plates... nature does not accept to be messed with.))