Africa may split apart due to a rift. Scientists are sounding the alarm.

Africa might split into two parts along a crack that stretches over 3,200 kilometers. The East African Rift is expanding faster than scientists had anticipated.

This is reported by Bild. Geophysicists observe that a process that began millions of years ago is accelerating due to tectonic plate activity. The movement of tectonic plates and the Earth's crust is linked to magma flows beneath it.

The first signs of the rift appeared in 2005 in Ethiopia, where a crack over 50 kilometers long formed. In 2018, a similar event occurred in Kenya.

Previously, scientists estimated that it would take between 5 to 10 million years for Africa to split in two. However, according to recent data, this could happen much sooner.

If this occurs, a portion of East Africa, particularly Somalia, Ethiopia, Tanzania, and part of Kenya could form a gigantic island near the continent.

According to geophysicist Cynthia Ebinger from Tulane University, the rift is widening at a rate of 0.8 to 2.5 cm per year, although this process could accelerate due to earthquakes.

As reported earlier by "Telegraph," three powerful earthquakes occurred in one of the states in the USA.