The Klyuchevskoy volcano on the Kamchatka peninsula in Russia's far east has started erupting after Wednesday's powerful earthquake in the Pacific, Russian state news agency RIA reported. The Russian Academy of Sciences reported that the volcano erupted due to the country's biggest earthquake since 1952. In videos published by the academy, lava can be seen flowing down the western side of the mountain. The Washington Post reported that the earthquake that preceded Klyuchevskoy's eruption was the sixth most powerful tremor reported in the world, at 8.8 magnitude on the Richter scale.
Tsunami warnings were triggered throughout the West Coast of the US, but it was later cancelled for coastal areas of California from the Mexico border. Hawaii also downgraded its warning to an advisory after the mayor of Honolulu advised citizens to move to higher ground. The shores of Hawaii, California, Oregon, Alaska, and parts of Washington were hit by waves. Hawaii and areas of Coastal California saw rises as high as 1.7 meters.
Klyuchevskoy is Eurasia's highest volcano, standing at 4,750 meters. Tsunami waves struck parts of Kamchatka, where the volcano stands, partially flooding the port and a fish processing plant in the town of Severo-Kurilsk and sweeping vessels from their moorings, regional officials and Russia's emergency ministry said. (Read More)
