PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSKY, October 18 (Itar-Tass) - The local river of Studenka has burst banks on Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia’s Far East, and has flooded the Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky-Ust-Kamchatsk highway due to the eruption of the Klyuchevskoy volcano. The road is closed, the traffic is halted, the Kamchatka branch of the Geophysical Service of the Russian Academy of Sciences told Itar-Tass on Friday.
“It is still unclear for what reasons the river has flooded the road, but doubtlessly this is triggered by the activity of Klyuchevskoy,” a source in the Kamchatka branch of the service said. In his words, the white-yellow colour of water on the road confirms this theory.
The call centre of the Kamchatka road service confirmed the report about the river bursting banks and the closure of the road. According to the road service, a section of the road of about 40 kilometres is closed. The traffic to the settlements of Kozyrevsk, Maiskoye, Klyuchi and Ust-Kamchatsk is stricken. According to preliminary reports, the ban for traffic is introduced until noon local time (04:00 Moscow time) on Friday.
According to seismic reports, Klyuchevskoy’s activity is growing. The volcano is in clouds, but according to the seismic stations placed in the eruption area, the ash is being emitted at an altitude of up to ten kilometres above sea level. The ashy blanket is going up at an altitude of eight kilometres above sea level and is stretching at 200 kilometres southwest of the volcano. The volcanic ash has fallen slightly, about two millimetres deep, in the settlements of Lazo, Atlasovo and Tayezhny about 80 kilometres away from the volcano.
The situation around the Klyuchevskoy volcano is put on the red highest aviation alert. “Over this situation the flight control service has sent warnings to aircrafts on local and international airlines. The flight controllers recommend the commanders of aircrafts to change their flight route,” the territorial emergency situation department noted.
Klyuchevskoy is the highest active volcano in the Eurasia (4,750 metres above sea level) and one of the most active volcanoes in the world according to the Institute of Volcanology and Seismology of the Far Eastern branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The volcano usefully erupts once in 5-6 years with volcanic emission of lava and ash. The previous eruption lasted from September 2009 until December 2010. The current eruption started in August 2013. The volcano is situated 360 kilometres northeast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. The closest settlement is Klyuchi, where more than 5,600 people live. Klyuchi is situated 30 kilometres away from the volcano. The volcano is under constant monitoring. The volcano does not pose a danger to the settlements, the scientists affirmed.