PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSKY, September 8. /TASS/. Eurasia’s biggest volcano, Klyuchevskoy, located on the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Russian Far East has spewed ash to an altitude of 7.5 kilometers into the sky, with the ash plume stretching 73 kilometers west-north-west, the Kamchatka Volcanic Response Team (KVERT) told TASS on Thursday.
"Klyuchevskoy has erupted ash to a height of 7.5 kilometers above sea level. The ash plume has spread 734 kilometers west and northwest of the volcano," the spokesman said.
An ‘orange’ aviation alert code has been assigned to the volcano, second after the highest - red code, warning about the hazard eruptions may pose to aircraft flying on local and international routes.
The day before, the volcano twice spewed ash up to eight and 11 kilometers high.
The giant mount is continuing to erupt ash. Video and seismic surveillance is conducted in the round-the-clock regime. Online records are available at the website of the Institute of Volcanology of the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Far Eastern Branch.
No ash fall has been registered in settlements of the region, the Kamchatka department of the Russian emergencies ministry reports.
The Klyuchevskoy, also known as the Klyuchevskaya Sopka, is located 360 km to the north-west of the capital of the Kamchatka Territory, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. The nearest town, Klyuchi, is separated from it by a distance of 30 km and is home to about 5,000 people at present.
The volcano, which is believed to be about 7,000 years old, has the height of 4,750 meters above the sea level. Apart from being the largest active volcano in Eurasia, it is also the highest mountain in Russia outside the Caucasus.
The volcano started spewing ash in early April. Scientists say the current volcanic activity is moderate.
All in all, the Kamchatka peninsula has 29 active volcanoes.