PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSKY, Aug 4: A massive surge in volcanic activity is currently underway in Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula, where six volcanoes are either erupting or otherwise showing signs of unrest in what scientists are calling a rare “parade of eruptions.”
The phenomenon has been described as the largest volcanic surge in the region in nearly three centuries, reports Russian state media TASS.
“The last time Kamchatka saw such extensive volcanic activity was in 1737, following a magnitude-9 earthquake,” said Alexey Ozerov, director of the Institute of Volcanology and Seismology of the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Far Eastern Branch.
He noted that massive 8.8 quake on July 30 could have triggered the renewed activity, awakening long-dormant volcanoes.
Yury Demyanchuk, head of the Klyuchi volcanology station, said he had never witnessed such a scale of activity in over 50 years of monitoring.
“On Krasheninnikov Volcano, both summit and central eruptions have begun simultaneously – a sign of intense internal seismic processes,” he said. “I last worked on Kambalny in 1979. It’s been quiet since, but clearly not extinct.”
Krasheninnikov’s last known eruption likely occurred in the 15th century, inferred only from layers of ash. “No one was monitoring volcanoes in the 1400s, so we are now witnessing truly exceptional natural events,” Demyanchuk added.
The currently active volcanoes – Avachinsky, Klyuchevskoy, Bezymianny, Kambalny, Karymsky, and Krasheninnikov – are displaying various types of volcanic activity.
At Klyuchevskoy, summit eruptions are intensifying, accompanied by ash plumes, lava flows, and strombolian explosions. Karymsky continues its summit eruption, while Bezymianny is in a minor extrusive-explosive phase.
Meanwhile, seismic activity at Kambalny has increased significantly, raising the risk of an explosive eruption, with ash clouds possibly reaching up to 6km in altitude.
Authorities have urged residents and tourists to exercise caution, adhere to state protocols and avoid the affected areas as scientists continue to monitor the evolving situation.
(UNI)
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