Apocalyptic scenes in Russia as volcanic eruption leaves villages covered in ash

On Tuesday morning, one of Russia’s most active volcanoes, the Shiveluch volcano, erupted on the far eastern Kamchatka Peninsula. The eruption caused a cloud of ash to go up as high as 20 kilometers into the sky and covered the nearby villages in grey ash as deep as 8.5 centimeters and covering an area of 108,000 square kilometers, leaving the areas looking like scenes from “The Road”.

Volcano eruption prompts aviation warning

Director of the Kamchatka branch of the Geophysical Survey, Danila Chebrov, said that the lava from the eruption should not reach the local villages, and though the ash cloud is calming down, it could pick back up again. A red notice for aviation was issued by the Kamchatka Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT) to warn the dangers to low-flying aircrafts in the area.

Though the lava should not reach the villages, nearby schools have been closed as the amount of ash is quite extreme. Some residents initially lost power and water, but electricity has since been restored and they are being supplied with water to drink. The head of the Ust-Kamchatsky municipal region, Oleg Bondarenko, has asked residents to “remain indoors and avoid unnecessary travel.”

The Shiveluch volcano’s most recent eruption before this was in 2007. In the last 10,000 years, it has erupted at least 60 times.