KAMCHATKA: A volcano in Russia’s eastern Kamchatka region erupted for the first time in 450 years, authorities confirmed Sunday. The rare event followed one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded in the area.
Images released by Russian state media show a massive ash plume rising from the Krasheninnikov volcano, which last erupted in 1550, according to the Smithsonian Institution’s Global Volcanism Program. The plume reached an estimated altitude of 6,000 metres (19,700 feet), Kamchatka’s Ministry of Emergency Situations reported.
“The plume is spreading eastward from the volcano toward the Pacific Ocean. There are no populated areas along its path, and no ashfall has been recorded in inhabited localities,“ the ministry stated.
An “orange” aviation hazard code has been issued, indicating potential flight disruptions in the region. The eruption comes just days after Klyuchevskoy, another active volcano in Kamchatka, erupted on Wednesday. Klyuchevskoy, the tallest active volcano in Europe and Asia, has erupted at least 18 times since 2000.
Both volcanic events followed a magnitude 8.8 earthquake off Petropavlovsk, one of the strongest ever recorded in the region. The quake triggered tsunami warnings and evacuations across coastal areas from Japan to Hawaii and Ecuador.
In Russia, the tsunami caused significant damage, flooding the port of Severo-Kurilsk and submerging a fishing plant. The earthquake was the most powerful since the 2011 Japan quake, which resulted in a devastating tsunami killing over 15,000 people. - AFP
