An active volcano on Russia’s remote Kamchatka peninsula was still erupting on Wednesday, a scientific institute said, sending an ash plume 10 km high into the sky and a danger warning for airlines still in place.
Shiveluch, one of Russia’s most active volcanoes, first erupted after midnight on Tuesday and at its peak six hours later sent an ash cloud covering an area of 108,000 km2 (41,700 sq mi).
Ash from the initial eruption reached 20 km into the sky, showering villages with plumes of gray volcanic dust and triggering aviation warnings. The nearest village, Klyuchi, is 50 km away.
The latest bulletin of the Kamchatka Branch of the Geophysical Survey of the Russian Academy of Sciences issued at 1:00 a.m. Moscow time (22:00 GMT Tuesday) said: “Eruption of the Shiveluch volcano continues. According to satellite data, the ash emission reached about 10,000 meters above sea level.
There were no immediate reports of casualties. On Monday, lava flows erupted from the volcano, melting snow and prompting mudslide warnings along a nearby highway. Up to 8.5 centimeters (3.5 in) of villages covered in a carpet of ash, the deepest in 60 years.
Volcano in Russia, 60 major eruptions over the past 10,000 years
About 24 hours after the volcano began erupting, a magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck off the coast of Kamchatka, the Geological Survey said. Russian scientists said the quake was an aftershock after the April 3 quake.
Kamchatka extends far into the Pacific Ocean northwest of Japan. About 300,000 people live on the peninsula.
Shiveluch has had an estimated 60 major eruptions over the past 10,000 years, the last major one in 2007.
The Red Notice issued by the Kamchatka Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT) remained in effect. It said the volcano “poses a potential danger to international and local airlines”.
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