A volcano in Kamchatka has erupted for the first time in 600 years, in an event believed to be linked to this week’s huge earthquake in Russia’s far east, Russian media and scientists have said.
The Krasheninnikov Volcano erupted overnight in the Kamchatka peninsula, which was the epicentre of the 8.8-magnitude earthquake that triggered tsunami warnings for Japan, parts of the US and the Philippines on Wednesday.
“This is the first historically confirmed eruption of Krasheninnikov Volcano in 600 years,” Russian state news agency RIA cited Olga Girina, head of the Kamchatka Volcanic Eruption Response Team, as saying.
Krasheninnikov’s last lava effusion took place in roughly 1463 (within an 80-year range) and no eruption has been known since, Ms Girina said on the Telegram channel of the Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.
The earthquake earlier this week was followed by an eruption of Klyuchevskoi, the most active volcano on the Kamchatka Peninsula.
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Klyuchevskoi is one of the highest volcanoes in the world and has erupted several times in recent years.
The eruption of Krasheninnikov comes amid reports of an earthquake of magnitude 6.7 hitting the Kuril Islands on Sunday, the German Research Center for Geosciences said.
According to Russia’s ministry for emergency services, tsunami waves were possible in three districts of the Kamchatka peninsula following Sunday’s earthquake.
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The United States Geological Survey said the earthquake was at a magnitude of 7.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning System, which also gauged the quake at 7.0, said there was no tsunami warning after the quake.