A volcano has erupted in Russia's Far East following a powerful earthquake, triggering fears of further seismic activity.
An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.0 occurred off the shore of the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia, causing the extremely active volcano Shiveluch to erupt.
The Kamchatka Volcanic Eruption Response Team temporarily issued a "code red" warning for air traffic due to the eruption's discharge of ash plumes that reached a height of five kilometres.
The Shiveluch volcano erupted shortly after the earthquake struck early on Sunday, according to the Russian Academy of Sciences.
According to released footage by the Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, it is shown that the massive ash cloud stretched over 490 kilometres (304 miles) in an easterly and southeasterly direction from the volcano.
Furthermore, ash was emitted by the Ebeko volcano in the Kuril Islands to a height of 2.5 kilometres (1.5 miles), though the institute did not specifically identify a link between the earthquake and the eruptions.
The epicentre of the earthquake, according to Russian emergency officials, was about 108 kilometres (67 miles) southeast of the nearest city and was located at a depth of 6 kilometres (3.7 miles) beneath the ocean bottom.
Fortunately, no injuries were reported, and the TASS news agency stated that no commercial aircraft were impacted and that the aviation infrastructure was unaffected, according to the AP. This was despite the issue of a "code red" alert.
Researchers from the Russian Academy of Sciences issued a warning, stating that the tremors might be a sign of a bigger earthquake with a magnitude of approximately 9.0 that might occur in southeast Kamchatka over the next 24 hours.
