Volcano erupts in Russia’s Far East after violent earthquake
18.08.2024, 20:25 Listen to article
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With 29 active volcanoes, Kamchatka is known as the “land of volcanoes”. The Russian peninsula now lives up to this name. After a strong earthquake, Shiveluch erupts. Its ash cloud is visible from far away. Nevertheless, the eruption is unlikely to pose a problem for the population.
One of Russia’s most active volcanoes has erupted. Mount Shiveluch on the Kamchatka Peninsula spewed an ash cloud up to eight kilometers high into the air, as can be seen in a video from the Institute of Volcanology and Seismology of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The first lava flows could also be observed.
The eruption began shortly after an earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale shook the region. Russian volcanologists warned that an even stronger earthquake of up to 9.0 on the Richter scale could follow. The Ebeko volcano on the Kuril Islands also spewed ash, the Volcanology Institute reported. The experts did not say whether the eruptions were a direct result of the earthquake. A temporary warning was issued for air traffic in the region because of the ash cloud. However, according to a report by the Russian state news agency TASS, there was no impact on passenger flights.
There were no reports of injuries after the earthquake. Residents of the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, which has a population of 181,000, reported to Russian media that the earth there had shaken more strongly than it had for a long time. On November 4, 1952, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake caused damage in Kamchatka, and waves nine meters high were reported in Hawaii at the time.
The almost 3300 meter high Shivelutsch is one of the largest volcanoes in Kamchatka and repeatedly causes new eruptions that create ash clouds that are visible from afar. With 29 active volcanoes, the peninsula is known as the “land of volcanoes”. But since Kamchatka is only sparsely populated, scientists currently do not see any problems for the residents. A light ash cloud fell in the settlement of Ust-Kamchatsk. “But the daily routine in the settlement was not disrupted by this,” said a statement from the Russian civil protection authorities.
