The Krasheninnikov volcano, located on the far eastern Kamchatka Peninsula, erupted overnight into Sunday. The eruption took place almost 600 years which could have been triggered by a massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Russia’s far east. The eruption also led to a 7.0-magnitude earthquake, which prompted a tsunami warning for three areas of Kamchatka. However, the warning was later lifted by Russia’s Ministry for Emergency Services.
The eruption also sent the ash six kilometres up in the sky, according to staff at the Kronotsky Reserve, where the volcano is located. The images released by state media reiterated the facts showing the dense clouds of ash rising above the volcano.
Eruption after 600 years
Olga Girina, head of the Kamchatka Volcanic Eruption Response Team, told Russian state news agency RIA Novosti that, “This is the first historically confirmed eruption of the Krasheninnikov volcano in 600 years.” On the contrary, the Smithsonian Institution’s Global Volcanism Program, based in the US, lists Krasheninnikov’s last eruption as occurring 475 years ago in 1550.
“The plume is spreading eastward from the volcano toward the Pacific Ocean. There are no populated areas along its path, and no ashfall has been recorded in inhabited localities,” Kamchatka’s emergencies ministry wrote on Telegram during the eruption. Notably, the Kamchatka Volcanic Eruption Response Team on late Sunday informed that the volcano’s activity was decreasing but that “moderate explosive activity” could continue.
8.8 magnitude earthquake and tsunami
The volcanic eruption was followed by a massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Russia’s Far East early on Wednesday. This powerful temblor generated small tsunami waves in Japan and Alaska, and prompted tsunami warnings for Hawaii, North and Central America, and Pacific islands extending south towards New Zealand.
Following the powerful 8.8 magnitude earthquake, tsunami warnings prompted residents to flee inland, leading to the flooding of ports on Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula. Across the sea, foamy white waves reached the shores of northern Japan. In Hawaii, traffic ground to a halt as roads became jammed, even far from the coast, as people attempted to escape the developing situation.
(With AP Inputs)