The volcano may have been primed to erupt before the magnitude 8.8 quake pushed it over the edge.
A massive volcano has erupted in Russia’s far eastern Kamchatka Peninsula region for the first time in centuries, just days after a powerful magnitude 8.8 earthquake rocked the area.
The Krasheninnikov Volcano began erupting early Sunday morning local time, according to a post from the Kronotsky Nature Reserve, where it’s located.
A cloud of ash and gas from the volcano sparked an aviation red alert for planes travelling through the area, after it reached an altitude of roughly 27,000 feet. That alert was later downgraded to orange, indicating that aircraft should continue to travel through the area with caution. « Ash explosions up to 10 km (32,800 ft) a.s.l. could occur at any time », read a statement from Russia’s Kamchatka Volcanic Eruption Response Team.
According to the Kronotsky Nature Reserve, the eruption of the volcano is the first in at least 400 years.
