Aura (woreda)

Aura is a woreda in Afar Region, Ethiopia. Part of the Administrative Zone 4, Aura is bordered on the southwest by Ewa, on the west by Gulina, on the north by Teru, and on the east by Administrative Zone 1; the Logiya River defines part of its southeastern boundary. The largest settlement in Aura is Derayitu.

Overview

The average elevation in this woreda is 459 meters above sea level.^[1] As of 2008, Awra has 65 kilometers of dry-weather road; about 29.02% of the total population has access to drinking water.^[2]

A notable landmark in Awra is the plain of Karbahi, the location of two recent fissure eruptions, one on 12 August 2007^[3] and more recently 29 June 2009.^[4] This is one incident in the separation of continental plates in the Afar Depression. The eruptions at Karbahi are being studied by the Afar Rift Consortium, a joint project of geologists in Great Britain working with other scientists in U.S., France and New Zealand, and most importantly, Ethiopia.^[5]

Demographics

Based on the 2007 Census conducted by the Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia (CSA), this woreda has a total population of 34,604, of whom 18,999 are men and 15,605 women; with an area of 2,317.86 square kilometers, Awra has a population density of 14.93. While 1,651 or 4.77% are urban inhabitants, a further 22,140 or 63.98% are pastoralists. A total of 6,394 households were counted in this woreda, which results in an average of 5.4 persons to a household, and 6,507 housing units. 99.46% of the population said they were Muslim.^[6]

Notes

1. Hailu Ejara Kene, Baseline Survey of 55 Weredas of PCDP Phase II, Part I July 20, 2011, at the Wayback Machine (Addis Ababa: August 2008), Annex 1 (accessed 23 March 2009)
2. Hailu Ejara Kene, Baseline Survey, Annexes 16, 17
3. Afar field trip preliminary report – August 20, 2007 (accessed 1 November 2009)
4. "Geologists, geophysicists say volcanic eruption causes surface displacement in Ethiopia" November 6, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, Ethiopian News Agency, 20 July 2009 (accessed 1 November 2009)
5. Home page of the Afar Rift Consortium November 6, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
6. Census 2007 Tables: Afar Region November 13, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, Tables 2.1, 2.4, 2.5, 3.1, 3.2 and 3.4.

Coordinates: 12°15′N 40°30′E / 12.250°N 40.500°E / 12.250; 40.500