One of Russia’s most active volcanoes has erupted, sending clouds of ash 5 kilometres (3 miles) into the sky over the far eastern Kamchatka Peninsula and temporarily triggering a “code red” alert for aviation.
According to volcanologists from the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Shiveluch volcano began sputtering shortly after a huge 7.0-magnitude earthquake erupted off the east coast of Kamchatka early Sunday.
They cautioned that another, more powerful earthquake could be on its way.
The academy’s Institute of Volcanology and Seismology released a video showing the ash cloud over Shiveluch. It stretched more than 490 km (304 miles) east and southeast of the volcano.
The institute also reported that the Ebeko volcano on the Kuril Islands emitted ash 2.5 kilometres (1.5 miles) high. It did not directly state whether the earthquake triggered the eruptions.
The Kamchatka Volcanic Eruption Response Team stated that a “code red” ash cloud warning briefly put all aeroplanes in the vicinity on high alert.
According to a separate report published on Sunday by the official TASS news agency, no commercial aircraft were affected, and aviation infrastructure was not damaged.
The Institute of Volcanology revealed that a potential second quake could come “within 24 hours” with a magnitude approaching 9.0.
According to Russian emergency personnel, there were no initial reports of injuries from Sunday’s earthquake, which occurred at a depth of 6 kilometres (3.7 miles) beneath the seabed and had an epicentre 108 kilometres (67 miles) southeast of the nearest city.
Residents of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, a port city of around 181,000 people across a bay from an important Russian submarine station, reported some of the strongest shaking “in a long time,” according to Russian news outlets.
