MOSCOW, April 12. /TASS/. The eruption of the Shiveluch volcano in Kamchatka is following the best-case scenario, as the wind has carried most of the ash away from nearby communities. Pyroclastic flows - a mixture of stones, ash and gases - have not damaged the roads, the director of the Institute of Volcanology and Seismology of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Alexey Ozerov, said at a situation analysis meeting.

"What has happened is the best possible scenario. The wind has carried the ash about 17 kilometers to the northwest. The bulk of it went that way, and that's very good. Those streams that have come down did not reach the roads to Ust-Kamchatsk and Ilpir, west of Shiveluch. The roads and bridges are not destroyed," said Ozerov.

He added that the most favorable factor was the time of year: there is still snow in the Shiveluch area and more snowfall is expected.

"It will snow there for five days. This factor is one of the most important. The snow will cover the ash, thus minimizing any harmful respiratory effects," he added.

Ozerov noted that scientists had been expecting the eruption for several months. According to their estimates, the ash was to rise to 20 kilometers above the surface.

The Shiveluch volcano started erupting at 12:54 a.m. on April 11 (Moscow time: 3:54 p.m. on April 10). The most violent eruptions were recorded at 5:44 a.m. (8:54 p.m. Moscow time), 6:46 a.m. (9:46 p.m. Moscow time), and 7:14 a.m. (10:14 p.m. Moscow time). According to satellite data, at 8:30 a.m. (11:30 p.m. Moscow time), the ash cloud over the Shiveluch volcano reached 20 km above sea level, with the resulting ash plume covering an area in the neighborhood of 240 to 400 kilometers.

Shiveluch is one of the largest volcanoes in Kamchatka with a height of 3,283 meters. It consists of three formations: the "Old Shiveluch" stratovolcano, an ancient caldera, and the active "Young Shiveluch." The lava dome of "Young Shiveluch" is 2,500 meters high. The volcano is located at the intersection of the Kuril-Kamchatka and Aleutian island arcs at a distance of 50 km from the village of Klyuchi in the Ust-Kamchatsky District and 450 km from the regional capital, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.