600 years silent: Russian volcano erupts after massive earthquake

The Krasheninnikov Volcano on Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula has erupted for the first time in around 600 years, and scientists believe a massive earthquake last week may have played a role.

Screenshot from CNN video

According to Russia’s RIA state news agency, the overnight eruption marks the volcano’s first historically confirmed activity in six centuries, as previously reported by CNN.

“This is the first historically confirmed eruption of Krasheninnikov Volcano in 600 years,” said Olga Girina, head of the Kamchatka Volcanic Eruption Response Team.

Girina noted the possible link between the eruption and Wednesday’s powerful offshore earthquake, which prompted tsunami alerts as far afield as French Polynesia and Chile. The quake was followed by an eruption of Klyuchevskoy, Kamchatka’s most active volcano.

 

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Girina also stated on the Telegram channel of the Institute of Volcanology and Seismology that Krasheninnikov last showed lava activity in 1463—give or take 40 years — with no known eruptions since.

Russia’s emergency services ministry reported that the latest eruption sent an ash plume soaring up to 6,000 metres (3.7 miles) into the atmosphere. Krasheninnikov itself stands at 1,856 metres high.

“The ash cloud has drifted eastward, toward the Pacific Ocean. There are no populated areas along its path,” the ministry announced on Telegram.

Authorities have issued an orange aviation warning — the second-highest alert level — due to the increased risk the ash poses to aircraft.