Volcanic eruption in Kamchatka: Krasheninnikov awakens after 450 years, just days after Klyuchevskoy
The Krasheninnikov volcano erupts after 450 years of stillness, followed by the Klyuchevskoy, the highest in Eurasia.
2' min read
2' min read
An earthquake tremor of magnitude 7.0 was recorded off the Kuril Islands in Russia. The quake had an epicentre 15 kilometres deep. The quake was recorded by the Seismic Room of the Ingv, National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, based in Rome.
Russian volcano erupting in Kamchatka after 450 years
A volcano has erupted for the first time in 450 years in Russia's eastern Kamchatka region. This was declared by the national emergency authority, just days after an 8.8 magnitude earthquake, one of the strongest ever recorded, struck the region. Images released by Russian state media show a massive column of ash escaping from the Krasheninnikov volcano, whose last eruption dates back to 1550, according to the Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanological Programme. The column is estimated to have reached an altitude of 6 kilometres, the Kamchatka Ministry of Emergency Situations said in a post on Telegram.
"The column is spreading eastwards from the volcano towards the Pacific Ocean. There are no populated areas along its path and no ash fall has been recorded in populated locations," the ministry said. The volcano has been assigned the air hazard code 'orange', the ministry added, which means flights in the area could be disrupted.
The eruption came after Klyuchevskoy, another volcano in the region, the highest active in Europe and Asia, went into action on Wednesday. Klyuchevskoy eruptions are quite common, with at least 18 eruptions occurring since 2000, according to the Global Volcanism Program.
Both recent eruptions followed one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded, which struck on Wednesday, triggering tsunami warnings and evacuations of millions of people from coastal areas from Japan to Hawaii to Ecuador. The worst damage occurred in Russia, where a tsunami struck the port of Severo-Kurilsk and submerged a fishing plant, authorities said.
