Gigantic ash cloud Volcano erupts in Russia's Far East

One of Russia's most active volcanoes has erupted. The Shiveluch volcano on the Kamchatka Peninsula spewed a five-kilometer-high ash cloud into the air on Sunday, as can be seen in a video from the Institute of Volcanology and Seismology of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

The ash cloud stretched 490 kilometers east and southeast of the volcano. The eruption began shortly after a 7.0-magnitude earthquake shook the region. Russian volcanologists warned that an even more violent quake with a magnitude of up to 9.0 could follow.

The Ebeko volcano on the Kuril island chain also spewed ash, according to the institute. The experts did not say whether the eruptions were a direct result of the earthquake. A temporary warning was issued for air traffic in the region due to the ash cloud. However, according to a report by the Tass news agency, there was no impact on passenger flights.

No reports of injuries

There were no reports of injuries after Sunday's earthquake. Residents of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, a town of 181,000 inhabitants, reported to Russian media that the earth had shaken harder there than it had for a long time.

On November 4, 1952, a magnitude 9.0 quake caused damage in Kamchatka, and nine-metre-high waves were reported in Hawaii at the time.

dpa