PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSKY, October 25 (Itar-Tass) — The Alaid volcano island in the Kurile ridge has spewed ash to an altitude of 700 meters, a spokesman for the Kamchatka branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Geophysical Service said on Thursday.
First reports about Alaid’s increased activity came on October 7, when thermal anomaly was registered at the giant mount. On that day, it spewed a cloud of steam to an altitude of up to 200 meters. Volcanologists warned about a possible ash eruption to a height of from ten to 15 kilometers above sea level.
So far, no such eruption had been reported but the volcano is showing signs of increased activity. All services concerned, including flight control ones, have been warned.
Located 70 kilometers southwest of the southern coasts of the Kamchatka Peninsula, Alaid (Altasov Island) is the tallest and northernmost volcano in the Kurile Islands. The symmetrical stratovolcano rises 3000 meters from the sea floor and forms a small island. It has a 1.5-kilometer-wide summit crater breached to the south. It is one of the Kuriles' most active volcanoes. Large explosive eruptions occurred in 1790 and 1981, and were among the largest in the Kuriles in historic times. The largest populated settlement – the town of Severo-Kurilsk on the Paramushir Island – is located 45 kilometers of the volcano.