A volcano in Russia’s Far East erupted on Saturday evening for the first time in more than 600 years, following a powerful earthquake that struck the region earlier this week.
The Kamchatka Volcanic Eruption Response Team confirmed this historic eruption, noting that the last lava flow from the Krasheninnikov volcano occurred over six centuries ago. The volcanic ash cloud reached an altitude of approximately 5,000 to 6,000 meters.
Local emergency services reported no residential areas along the path of the ash cloud, reducing immediate risk to populations.
Scientists have linked the volcanic activity, including the Krasheninnikov eruption and a series of other eruptions in the region, to a magnitude 8.8 earthquake and subsequent aftershocks that struck earlier this week.
The earthquake’s epicenter was about 120 kilometers away and occurred at 11:24 AM local time at a depth of approximately 21 kilometers, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). Several strong aftershocks followed, with magnitudes up to 6.9.
This earthquake was the strongest recorded since the magnitude 9.1 quake near northeastern Japan in March 2011, which triggered a devastating tsunami.
