emirates7 - A volcano in Russia’s eastern Kamchatka region has erupted for the first time in 450 years, the country’s emergency authorities announced on Sunday, just days after a powerful earthquake shook the area.
Images shared by Russian state media captured a massive column of ash rising from the Krasheninnikov volcano, which, according to the Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Program, last erupted in 1550.
Kamchatka's Ministry of Emergency Situations reported that the ash plume reached an altitude of around 6,000 meters (19,700 feet) and is drifting eastward toward the Pacific Ocean. Fortunately, the ash cloud is not expected to affect any populated areas, and no ashfall has been reported in inhabited regions.
Authorities have issued an "orange" aviation alert for the volcano, indicating that air travel in the vicinity could face disruptions.
The eruption follows the activity of Klyuchevskoy, another volcano in the region and the tallest active one in both Europe and Asia, which erupted last Wednesday. Klyuchevskoy’s eruptions are relatively frequent, with at least 18 recorded since 2000.
Both volcanic events came in the wake of one of the most powerful earthquakes on record, which struck the region last Wednesday. The quake triggered tsunami alerts and led to mass evacuations in coastal areas stretching from Japan and Hawaii to Ecuador.
Russia experienced the most significant damage, as a tsunami hit the port town of Severo-Kurilsk, inundating a fish processing plant, according to officials.
The magnitude 8.8 quake struck near Petropavlovsk on the Kamchatka Peninsula, making it the strongest since the 2011 magnitude 9.1 earthquake off Japan that caused a devastating tsunami and claimed over 15,000 lives.
Images shared by Russian state media captured a massive column of ash rising from the Krasheninnikov volcano, which, according to the Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Program, last erupted in 1550.
Kamchatka's Ministry of Emergency Situations reported that the ash plume reached an altitude of around 6,000 meters (19,700 feet) and is drifting eastward toward the Pacific Ocean. Fortunately, the ash cloud is not expected to affect any populated areas, and no ashfall has been reported in inhabited regions.
Authorities have issued an "orange" aviation alert for the volcano, indicating that air travel in the vicinity could face disruptions.
The eruption follows the activity of Klyuchevskoy, another volcano in the region and the tallest active one in both Europe and Asia, which erupted last Wednesday. Klyuchevskoy’s eruptions are relatively frequent, with at least 18 recorded since 2000.
Both volcanic events came in the wake of one of the most powerful earthquakes on record, which struck the region last Wednesday. The quake triggered tsunami alerts and led to mass evacuations in coastal areas stretching from Japan and Hawaii to Ecuador.
Russia experienced the most significant damage, as a tsunami hit the port town of Severo-Kurilsk, inundating a fish processing plant, according to officials.
The magnitude 8.8 quake struck near Petropavlovsk on the Kamchatka Peninsula, making it the strongest since the 2011 magnitude 9.1 earthquake off Japan that caused a devastating tsunami and claimed over 15,000 lives.