Volcano eruption in Russia may disrupt international flights, agency declares code red for aviation

A volcanic eruption in Russia's far east region Kamchatka Peninsula can potentially pose a
risk to international flights and low-flying aircrafts, Russian Volcanic observatory organisation has warned. The Shiveluch volcano in Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula erupted on Tuesday and spewed an ash plume up to 15 km into the sky.

The Institute of Volcanology and Seismology of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences has declared the highest "red" hazard designation for aviation. The ash cloud following the eruption drifted to the west and south and measured 400 by 270 kilometers, the Kamchatka branch of the Geophysical Survey of the Russian Academy of Sciences said on Telegram. Russian media reports indicated it was continuing to spread.



The agency also said the volcano ash could travel up to 20 km and block the Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky-Ust-Kamchatsk highway.

The sky was covered with a black cloud within a radius of several kilometres from the volcano, with thunder rumbling due to static electricity in the ash cloud.

Ash began to fall in the village of Klyuchi in the Ust-Kamchatsky District of the Kamchatka Territory, where about 4,000 people live.

The thickness of volcanic ash in Klyuchi village has reached 8.5 cm.


One of Kamchatka's largest and most active volcanoes, Shiveluch has had an estimated 60 substantial eruptions in the past 10,000 years, the last major one being in 2007. Shiveluch has a height of more than 3,200 meters.

(Inputs from Reuters & IANS)