Displaced but full of hope

EVACUATION: FAMILIES NOW LIVING IN SURVIVAL MODE DUE TO FEAR DAM MAY COLLAPSE

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Under a makeshift shelter, Moussa Akele kills time chewing the stimulant khat, wondering where his family will get its next meal after fleeing a series of earthquakes that have shaken several regions of Ethiopia.

The 40-year-old was at home in Kabanna in the Afar region, about 250 kilometers northeast of the capital Addis Ababa, when an earthquake struck late last month. "It caused widespread panic and destroyed our houses. People were terrified," he said.

Ethiopia's Rift Valley is one of the most seismically active regions in the world.

For several weeks, frequent tremors, including one measuring 5.8 on the Richter scale, have been shaking the rural regions of Afar and Oromia.

There are fears they could cause a major dam to collapse or lead to the eruption of a volcano, Mount Dofan, so the authorities have evacuated tens of thousands of people.