Eruption Follows Earthquake

Residents in Russia's far east are cautioned follow-up could approach magnitude 9
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Aug 18, 2024 1:00 PM CDT
Eruption Follows Earthquake, Volcanologists Warn of Another
In this photo taken from AP video, provided by by the Institute of Volcanology and Seismology of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences on Sunday, the eruption of the Shiveluch volcano is seen in Kamchatka Peninsula.   (Institute of Volcanology and Seismology of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences video via AP)

One of Russia's most active volcanoes erupted Sunday, spewing plumes of ash 3 miles into the sky over the far eastern Kamchatka Peninsula and briefly triggering a "code red" warning for aircraft. The Shiveluch volcano began sputtering shortly after a powerful magnitude 7 earthquake struck off Kamchatka's east coast, according to volcanologists from the Russian Academy of Sciences. They warned that another, even more potent earthquake may be on the way, the AP reports. The academy's Institute of Volcanology and Seismology released a video showing the ash cloud over Shiveluch. It stretched over 304 miles east and southeast of the volcano.

The Ebeko volcano located on the Kuril Islands also spewed ash 1.5 miles high, the institute said. It did not explicitly say whether the earthquake touched off the eruptions. A "code red" ash cloud warning briefly put all aircraft in the area on alert, the Kamchatka Volcanic Eruption Response Team reported. A separate report on Sunday carried by the official Tass news agency said that no commercial flights had been disrupted and that there was no damage to aviation infrastructure. The tremors in the area may be a prelude to an even stronger earthquake in southeastern Kamchatka, Russian scientists warned. The Institute of Volcanology said a second quake could come "within 24 hours" with a magnitude approaching 9, per the AP.

There were no immediate reports of injuries from Sunday's earthquake, which struck at a depth of 3.7 miles under the sea bed with the epicenter 67 miles southeast of the nearest city, according to Russian emergency officials. Russian news outlets cited residents of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, a port city of more than 181,000 people that sits across a bay from an important Russian submarine base, reporting some of the strongest shaking "in a long time."

(More volcano eruption stories.)

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