Russian volcano erupts for the first time in 600 years near massive earthquake epicentre
The Krasheninnikov Volcano erupted on Saturday which was the epicentre of the 8.8-magnitude earthquake that triggered tsunami warnings for Japan, parts of the US and the Philippines on Wednesday.
Olga Girina, head of the Kamchatka Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT), t old Russia's state-run RIA news agency."This is the first historical eruption of the Krasheninnikov volcano in 600 years.'
According to RIA, Ms Girina suggested the eruption could be linked to the earthquake recorded in Kamchatka.
On the Telegram channel of the Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, Ms Girina said that Krasheninnikov's last lava effusion took place within 40 years of 1463, 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 6,000 meters (3.7 miles) has been recorded following the volcano's eruption.
The volcano itself stands at 1,856 metres."The ash cloud has drifted eastward, toward the Pacific Ocean. There are no populated areas along its path," the ministry said on Telegram.
Another earthquake was recorded earlier today, with German Research Centre for Geosciences, saying a magnitude 6.7 struck Russia's Kuril Islands.
The Kuril Islands stretch from the southern tip of the Kamchatka Peninsula.
The United States Geological Survey reported that the earthquake had a magnitude of 7, and the Pacific Tsunami Warning System (PTWS) also measured the quake at 7.
There was no tsunami warning from the PTWS after the quake.
However, Russia's Ministry for Emergency Services said Tsunami said on the Telegram messaging app, after the latest seismic activity in the area, that: 'The expected wave heights are low, but you must still move away from the shore.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
Statue of Liberty visibly rocked by New York earthquake in dramatic footage
Watch as an EarthCam captures the moment that the Statue of Liberty appeared to shake during a 3.0 magnitude earthquake in New York City and New Jersey. A livestream of the earthquake taken on Saturday (2 August) shows the skyline of the Big Apple trembling as the camera rattles side to side. According to the United States Geological Survey, a magnitude 3.0 earthquake struck at 10:18 p.m, with its epicenter in Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey, just north of Newark. New York City Emergency Management acknowledged the quake but said residents did not need to be alarmed. No injuries or reports of serious damage have come out of either New York or New Jersey.
The Guardian
2 hours ago
- The Guardian
Small earthquake rattles New Jersey and New York City
A small earthquake rattled the New York metropolitan area on Saturday night. The US Geological Survey (USGS) said the tremor had a magnitude of 3.0. It hit in the New Jersey suburb of Hasbrouck Heights, less than 8 miles (13km) west of Central Park, at a depth of about 6.2 miles (10km). One resident of New York's Brooklyn borough described it as a very brief tremor, just a slight swaying for a moment. Nevertheless, social media quickly lit up with people who felt it. The official account of the Empire State building reported in on the social platform X to say: 'I AM FINE.' The tremor was much milder than a 4.8-magnitude quake in 2024 that struck in Tewksbury, New Jersey, a little farther west of the city. A 3.0 earthquake is typically not strong enough to cause any damage – but tremors that mild are somewhat rare in the north-eastern US. New York City emergency management said there were no immediate reports of major impacts.
Telegraph
4 hours ago
- Telegraph
How a mega earthquake spread tsunami fears across the Pacific
One of the most powerful earthquakes in history triggered a tsunami that made landfall in Russia, Japan and the US. Millions of people on both sides of the Pacific were told to evacuate to higher ground after the 8.8 magnitude earthquake off the Kamchatka Peninsula caused waves of up to 16ft. While threat-to-life warnings were issued in Hawaii, a state of emergency was declared in parts of Russia, California residents were told to stay away from the coastline and much of Japan's eastern seaboard was evacuated, the damage appeared to be limited. Buildings were shaken in Russia and Japan, and flooding was reported in Hawaii. On the Kamchatka peninsula, near the epicentre, some people hurt themselves rushing to leave their homes, and a hospital patient was injured jumping out of a window. In Japan, it was reported that a 58-year-old woman died when her car fell off a cliff while she was evacuating in the central Mie prefecture. The tsunami threat has now been downgraded, but cautions to stay away from beaches were issued by officials in Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Federated States of Micronesia and Solomon Islands. Russia The massive 8.8 magnitude earthquake is believed to be the sixth strongest in history. It struck just off Russia's far eastern coast at around 11.25am local time (12.25am in the UK), triggering tsunami alerts in Japan, the US West Coast, parts of Alaska, Hawaii and Guam. In Severo-Kurilsk in the northern Kuril Islands, south of Kamchatka, tsunami waves exceeded 9ft, with the largest reaching up to 16ft, Russia's RIA news agency reported. Tsunamis form when an undersea earthquake displaces a large volume of water, creating low waves, often 1-2ft high, in the open ocean. These waves race across deep water at speeds rivalling a jet plane, up to 600 mph. As they near shallower coasts, the slowing base of the wave compresses its energy, pushing water upward into towering waves or powerful surges that flood the shore. Tsunami waves struck parts of Kamchatka in the Russian region, partially flooding the port and a fish processing plant in the town of Severo-Kurilsk and sweeping vessels from their moorings. Drone footage showed the town's entire shoreline was submerged, with taller buildings and some storage facilities surrounded by water. 'Today's earthquake was serious and the strongest in decades of tremors,' Vladimir Solodov, the governor of Kamchatka, said in a statement. Russian scientists said it was the most powerful to hit the region since 1952, and was the largest since 2011, when a magnitude 9.1 earthquake off Japan and a subsequent tsunami killed more than 15,000 people. A video showed a team of doctors at a cancer clinic on Kamchatka holding a patient and clutching medical equipment as the quake rocked an operating room, before continuing with surgery after the shaking stopped. Officials said the doctors will receive decorations. Another video showed terrified residents screaming inside an apartment building as it shook from side to side, with cutlery and pictures crashing onto the floor. Russian emergency services said that a kindergarten was damaged, but most buildings withstood the quake, with no serious injuries or fatalities reported. Kamchatka and Russia's far east sit on the Pacific Ring of Fire, a geologically active region that is prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Japan Following the earthquake, tsunami alarms sounded in coastal towns across Japan's Pacific coast, and evacuation orders were issued for 1.9 million people. Footage broadcast by NHK showed scores of people on the northern island of Hokkaido on the roof of a building, sheltering as waves of up to 2ft crashed down below. Three tsunami waves were recorded in Japan, the largest of which was 4.3ft, officials said. Tsunami waves of 3-9ft can be fatal for people who are swept away, according to experts. Nearly two million residents were under evacuation advisories in more than 220 municipalities along the Pacific coast as of midday on Wednesday, Japan's Fire and Disaster Management Agency said. Workers were forced to evacuate the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant, where a meltdown following the 2011 tsunami caused a radioactive disaster. Broadcaster Asahi TV reported that a 58-year-old woman died when her car fell off a cliff while she was evacuating in central Japan's Mie prefecture. Carmaker Nissan suspended operations at some factories in Japan to ensure employee safety, Kyodo news agency reported. Four whales also washed up on a beach south of Tokyo in the aftermath of the earthquake. Footage filmed in Tateyama, Chiba, shows the huge whales lying within a few feet of one another along the shore. Professor Peter Evans, director of the Sea Watch Foundation, told the Mail: 'I imagine that the earthquake off Russia has caused major tremors initiating the tsunami and that all of that has had impacts on whales.' Hawaii and mainland US Across the Pacific, Josh Green, the governor of Hawaii, urged residents to evacuate ahead of what was expected to be 'life-threatening' tsunami waves. 'God willing, these waves will not hurt us,' Mr Green said before the waves made landfall. 'But you have to assume, assume, they will be life-threatening.' Waves of up to 5.5ft impacted the islands before the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre reduced its warning level for the state at around 9.50am BST. Coastal residents in Hawaii had been told to get to high ground or at least to the fourth floor of buildings. Tourists were seen sprinting back to their cruise ships in Hawaii as warning sirens blared before tsunami waves hit the island. Rachael Burrows, from Macclesfield, Cheshire, was on a tour around the Big Island when she was forced to rush back to her ship. 'We got off the tour bus and everyone was running trying to get on the cruise ship, because we needed to get out to sea,' she told BBC Breakfast. 'We were luckily some of the last ones to get on the cruise ship. Then we could see a lot of other people getting dropped off and lining up, but they didn't make it.' Oprah Winfrey, the popular TV host who has a home on the island state, was forced to clarify that she had opened her private road in Maui to make way for residents who were evacuating after social media posts suggested otherwise. 'As soon as we heard the tsunami warnings, we contacted local law enforcement and FEMA to ensure the road was opened,' her spokesman told CNN. 'Local law enforcement is currently on site, helping residents through 50 cars at a time to ensure everyone's safety. The road will remain open as long as necessary.' Tsunami waves also reached the US west coast, where waves in Crescent City, northern California, were recorded at 3.6ft. In Port San Luis, there was a 'rapid and damaging surge, going from low to high tide in just a few minutes', with the Los Angeles weather service warning people to evacuate the area. Less than 12 hours after the initial powerful earthquake, emergency authorities in Japan and Hawaii began to downgrade their tsunami warnings to advisories. The Hawaii governor held an optimistic briefing, saying the state 'had not seen a wave of consequence'. One tourist on the island told the BBC that 'the disaster we were expecting did not come'. 'It was super nerve-wracking waiting and waiting – you could hear a pin drop,' said Farrell Monaco in Makaha, Ohau in Hawaii. 'The disaster we were expecting did not come. They were so well prepared, they had air raid sirens and alerts. Everyone was on the roads and it was busy but it was all very civilised.'
