Large-scale eruption of Shiveluch volcano, Kamchatka: surrounding area covered with ash

Reuters reported the information.

The news agency notes that a large volcanic dust cloud is drifting westward at an altitude of up to 15 kilometers. Local authorities closed schools shortly after the eruption and ordered residents of nearby villages to stay home. Due to poor visibility and heavy ashfall, more than 250 kilometers of roads were closed and all buses in the eruption area were canceled.

The ash cloud could also pose an increased threat to international flights.

Shiveluch, one of the largest and most active volcanoes in Kamchatka, has experienced about 60 major eruptions over the past 10,000 years, the last of which occurred in 2007.

According to Russian media, the eruption was the strongest since 1964.

There is a lot of ash near the volcano, which can be harmful. The volcanic ash already contaminated the air of the largest city in the region, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, located 440 kilometers away. Although the plume of ash has moved mostly westward toward the Sea of Okhotsk.

In the village of Klyuchi, which is closest to the volcano, more than 8 cm of ash completely covered the snow. The tap water is also contaminated with dust, as it has entered the water supply system.

The volcano dust cloud stretched for 500 kilometers, residents of nearby villages woke up in the morning and could not see the sun.

• On December 4, Semeru, the largest volcano in Indonesia, spewed a 1.5 km high column of volcanic dust into the air. Several hundred people were evacuated.