Days after major earthquake, dormant Russian volcano erupts for first time in centuries—Scary footage surfaces
The Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Programme said the Krasheninnikov volcano, dormant since its last eruption in 1550, has now spewed a massive plume of ash, as shown in images released by Russian state media.
Kamchatka's Ministry of Emergency Situations stated on Telegram that the ash plume reached an estimated height of 6,000 meters (19,700 feet).
The ministry mentioned, '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 added that the volcano has been classified with an "orange" aviation hazard code, signaling potential flight disruptions in the area.
This event occurred shortly after the eruption of Klyuchevskoy, the tallest active volcano in Europe and Asia, which erupted on Wednesday.
The Global Volcanism Programme notes that Klyuchevskoy eruptions are relatively frequent, with at least 18 occurring since 2000.
Both eruptions followed one of the most powerful earthquakes ever recorded on Wednesday, which led to tsunami alerts and forced millions of people to evacuate coastal regions from Japan to Hawaii to Ecuador.
Officials said that the most severe damage occurred in Russia, where a tsunami swept through the port of Severo-Kurilsk and flooded a fishing plant.
The magnitude 8.8 earthquake hit near Petropavlovsk on Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula and was the powerful since the 2011 magnitude 9.1 quake off Japan, which triggered a tsunami that claimed over 15,000 lives.
The scientists said Pacific Plate's movement makes the Kamchatka Peninsula, located off Russia's Far East coast, particularly vulnerable to earthquakes, and they warned that larger aftershocks remain possible, Reuters reported.
Centered near the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, this was the largest earthquake since the catastrophic 2011 Tohoku quake, which triggered a tsunami that led to the meltdown at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
"The Kamchatka seismic zone is one of the most active subduction zones around the Pacific Ring of Fire, and the Pacific Plate is moving westwards at around 80 mm (3 inches) per year, Roger Musson, honorary research fellow at the British Geological Survey said.
(With inputs from AFP and Reuters)
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