Kamchatka quake may have caused volcano's eruption after 600 years, Russia says
The overnight eruption of the Krasheninnikov Volcano in Kamchatka, its first in 600 years, may be connected to the huge earthquake that
rocked Russia's Far East last week , Russia's RIA state news agency and scientists reported on Aug 3.
'This is the first historically confirmed eruption of Krasheninnikov Volcano in 600 years,' RIA cited Ms Olga Girina, head of the Kamchatka Volcanic Eruption Response Team, as saying.
She added that the eruption may be connected to the earthquake on July 30 that triggered tsunami warnings as far away as French Polynesia and Chile, and was followed by an eruption of Klyuchevskoy, the most active volcano on the Kamchatka Peninsula.
On the Telegram channel of the Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, Ms Girina said that Krasheninnikov's last lava effusion took place on 1463 - plus/minus 40 years - and no eruption has been known since.
The Kamchatka branch of Russia's ministry for emergency services said that an ash plume rising up to 6,000m has been recorded following the volcano's eruption. The volcano itself stands at 1,856m.
'The ash cloud has drifted eastward, toward the Pacific Ocean. There are no populated areas along its path,' the ministry said on Telegram.
The eruption of the volcano has been assigned an orange aviation code, indicating a heightened risk to aircraft, the ministry said. REUTERS
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