Shiveluch started erupting after the earthquake struck off the east coast of Russia’s Kamchatka peninsula at a depth of 29km (18 miles).
One of Russia’s most active volcanoes has erupted, spewing massive plumes of ash into the atmosphere and putting aircraft on alert.
It was triggered by a powerful 7.0 magnitude earthquake off the east coast of Russia’s Kamchatka peninsula at 7.10am local time on Sunday (8.10pm UK time on Saturday), according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).
The quake struck at a depth of 18 miles (29km) and there were reports of “severe shaking” and “moderate to heavy damage” in the nearest city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, which has a population of more than 150,000 people.
According to the Kamchatka Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT), aircraft have been issued a “red” code warning, the highest alert level, for a significant amount of ash in the atmosphere.
It describes explosions from the Shiveluch volcano, sending ash up three miles (5km) in the air, with the plume extending about 930 miles (1,500km) to the east-south-east.
Initially the USGS reported the magnitude as 7.2 but – as more data was analysed – the figure was revised downward.
Satellite images show two lava domes growing on the volcano’s southwestern flank, according to the website volcanodiscovery.com.
Meanwhile, the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (GSI) has issued a map showing the extent of the ash plume.
The Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC) in Tokyo is warning that “explosive activity” is continuing.
