Volcano erupts in Russia, ash everywhere in cities
The Shiveluch volcano in Russia’s Kamchatka peninsula erupted on Tuesday. Danila Chebrov, director of the Kamchatka branch of the Geophysical Survey of the Russian Academy of Sciences, says the volcano erupted at 6:31 a.m. local time. The explosion sent a cloud of dust 20 kilometers (65,600 feet) into the sky and an 8.5-centimeter (3.35-inch) high ash plume spread over an area of 108,000 square kilometers (41,699 square miles), he said. At the same time, the Kamchatka Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT) issued a code red for airlines and asked them to stop the airline. People are sharing pictures of ashes spread in the volcano and its surrounding villages on social media, in which it is clearly visible that houses, vehicles and roads are covered with ashes. There are about 30 active volcanoes in this region and this volcano has erupted for the 60th time in 10,000 years.
The Shiveluch volcano in Russia’s Kamchatka peninsula erupted in the early morning. And it kept spewing lava continuously for 6 hours. Due to the explosion, 20 kilometers (65,600 feet) clouds of dust flew in the sky and as if the snow had frozen in the sky.
The Kamchatka Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT) issued a code red for airlines due to lava dust in the sky and frequent volcanic eruptions. The ash cloud from the eruption of Shivluch, Kamchatka’s most active volcano, extended 500 kilometers (over 300 mi) to the northwest and enveloped several villages in gray volcanic dust.
The authorities closed the skies over the volcanic area to aircraft. Local officials advised residents to stay indoors. Schools were closed in several affected societies, and power supplies to two villages were cut for a few hours, until emergency workers restored them.
According to the regional branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences Geophysical Survey, volcanic ash fell over an area of 108,000 square kilometers (41,699 sq mi). Scientists described this explosion as the biggest in about 60 years. It is known that there are two main parts of this volcano, the small- Young Shivluch, and the big- Old Shivluch and this time the small volcano has erupted. Just think what will happen if the big one explodes?
The village of Klaichi, located about 50 kilometers (about 30 mi) from the volcano, was covered by an 8-centimetre (3-inch) layer of dust. Residents posted videos showing a cloud of ash plunging the area into darkness. There have been warnings of lava flowing from the volcano, snow melting and mud spreading on a nearby highway.
The Kamchatka Peninsula, which extends into the Pacific Ocean about 6,600 kilometers (4,000 mi) east of Moscow, is one of the world’s most concentrated areas of geothermal activity, with about 30 active volcanoes.
