One of Russia’s most active volcanoes erupted, sending a plume of ash up to 5 kilometres (3 miles) into the sky over the far eastern Kamchatka Peninsula and briefly triggering a “code red” warning for aircraft.
Shiveluch volcano began erupting shortly after a powerful 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck off Kamchatka’s east coast on Sunday morning, according to volcanologists from the Russian Academy of Sciences. They warned that another, even more powerful quake was on the way.
The academy’s Institute of Volcanology and Seismology released a video showing the ash cloud over Shiveluch. It stretched 490 kilometers (304 miles) to the east and southeast of the volcano.
The institute said Ebeko volcano on the Kuril Islands also spewed ash up to a height of 2.5 kilometers (1.5 miles). The institute did not say clearly whether the earthquake caused the eruption or not.
The Kamchatka volcanic eruption response team reported that a “code red” ash cloud warning put all aircraft in the region on alert for some time. A separate report published by the official TASS news agency on Sunday said no commercial flights were disrupted and there was no damage to aviation infrastructure.
Russian scientists have warned that the tremors in the region could be a precursor to an even more powerful earthquake in southeastern Kamchatka. The Institute of Volcanology said a possible second quake could strike “within 24 hours” with a magnitude of around 9.0.
There were no immediate reports of casualties from Sunday’s quake, according to Russian emergency officials. The quake struck at a depth of 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) below the sea floor and was centered 108 kilometers (67 miles) southeast of the nearest town.
Russian news outlets cited residents of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, a port city of more than 181,000 people, as saying it is located across the bay from a key Russian submarine base and that the earthquake was the most powerful reported here “in a long time.”
On November 4, 1952, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake caused damage in Kamchatka, but no deaths were reported despite waves up to 9.1 metres (30 ft) in Hawaii.