The Shiveluch volcano, located in the Russian Far East, erupted on Tuesday, throwing a cloud of ash over a large sparsely populated area.
It is not snow, sand or mud, but ashes that cover the trees, cars, houses or village roads of the Russian Far East. One of the country’s largest volcanoes, Shiveluch, erupted on Tuesday, causing a huge cloud of ash, which rose up to 20,000 meters above sea level.
During the eruption, the cloud quickly spread over the surrounding forests and completely hid the volcano. Fortunately, no victims are to be deplored, the area being sparsely populated. According to the Smithsonian Institution’s Global Volcanism Program, fewer than 12,000 people live within 100 kilometers of the volcano.
Ashes scattered over 108,000 square meters
Damage is nevertheless to be deplored in the villages and the roads. The ashes fell on 108,000 square meters, or a fifth of the area of France.
Authorities have advised locals to stay at home, which hasn’t stopped some residents from having fun in the ashes. Schools are closed, and doctors must be sent to “visit every house and apartment”, said Kamchatka Governor Vladimir Solodov, while the eruption could still last a few days.
“I think the eruption will continue for several days if the Shiveluch volcano behaves as usual,” said seismologist Danill Chebrov.
He adds that in this context, “there may be new eruptions, but smaller than the big one we had, up to 10, 12 kilometers above the sea, perhaps”.
“Code Red” for Aviation
Surveillance authorities have also issued a “red code” for aviation, signaling that the ash cloud has spread over hundreds of kilometers north and southwest of Shiveluch.
This event is reminiscent of the eruption of the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjöll, which also caused the projection of a thick cloud of ash and paralyzed European air transport in April 2010.
