Russian volcano erupts for the first time in 600 years near massive earthquake epicentre

A volcano in Russia has erupted for the first time in 600 years and may be linked to a recent major earthquake in the east of the country.

The Krasheninnikov Volcano erupted on Saturday which was the epicentre of the 8.8-magnitude earthquake that triggered tsunami warnings for Japan, parts of the US and the Philippines on Wednesday.

Olga Girina, head of the Kamchatka Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT), told Russia’s state-run RIA news agency.”This is the first historical eruption of the Krasheninnikov volcano in 600 years.”

According to RIA, Ms Girina suggested the eruption could be linked to the earthquake recorded in Kamchatka.

On the Telegram channel of the Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, Ms Girina said that Krasheninnikov’s last lava effusion took place within 40 years of 1463, and no eruption has been known since.

The Kamchatka branch of Russia’s ministry for emergency services said that an ash plume rising up to 6,000 meters (3.7 miles) has been recorded following the volcano’s eruption.

The volcano itself stands at 1,856 metres.”The ash cloud has drifted eastward, toward the Pacific Ocean. There are no populated areas along its path,” the ministry said on Telegram.

Another earthquake was recorded earlier today, with German Research Centre for Geosciences, saying a magnitude 6.7 struck Russia’s Kuril Islands.

The Kuril Islands stretch from the southern tip of the Kamchatka Peninsula.

The United States Geological Survey reported that the earthquake had a magnitude of 7, and the Pacific Tsunami Warning System (PTWS) also measured the quake at 7.

There was no tsunami warning from the PTWS after the quake.

However, Russia’s Ministry for Emergency Services said Tsunami said on the Telegram messaging app, after the latest seismic activity in the area, that: “The expected wave heights are low, but you must still move away from the shore.”