The Shiveluch volcano erupted following a 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck off the eastern coast of Russia, as reported by CNN, citing TASS. Visual assessments indicate that the ash column is rising up to 8 kilometres above sea level, and the volcano has released a flow of lava. No injuries have been reported thus far.
The Shiveluch volcano is situated approximately 280 miles from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, a coastal city with a population of around 181,000 in Russia’s Kamchatka region.
A powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 7.0 struck off the coast of Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula in the far-eastern region early Sunday morning. The tremors were felt along the coast, including in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, the capital of the region.
The United States Geological Survey reported that the earthquake occurred at a depth of nearly 50 kilometres (30 miles), approximately 90 kilometres east of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, just after 7:00 am local time.
The Kamchatka branch of the Geophysical Service of the Russian Academy of Sciences reported that an aftershock with a magnitude of 4.7 occurred at 07:21 Kamchatka time (22:21 Moscow time) on Saturday.
Initially, the US National Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami threat, but later retracted the warning, stating that the threat had passed.
Although the quake did not cause any “major damage,” buildings were being inspected for potential damage, with a focus on social facilities.
The Kamchatka Peninsula is situated on a seismically active belt known as the “Ring of Fire,” which surrounds most of the Pacific Ocean. The region is home to more than two dozen active volcanoes.