A volcano in the Afar region of northern Ethiopia, erupted at around 8:30 a.m. UTC (3:30 a.m. EST) on Sunday, for the first time in 12,000 years.
According to geologists, the Hayli Gubbi Gubbi volcano, is a natural event, driven by tectonic plate movement.
Shiferaw Teklemariam, Commissioner at the Ethiopian Disaster Risk Commission, said no casualties were reported as a result of the volcano.
About 9,000 people live within a 30 km radius from the eruption.
Ash plumes reached a height of 8.5 km above sea level and moved in an easterly direction, over the Arabian Peninsula, affecting Yemen and Oman.
Picture: Smithsonian Institution