The eruption of the Shiveluch volcano is seen in Kamchatka Peninsula, about 310 miles north of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia. INSTITUTE OF VOLCANOLOGY AND SEISMOLOGY OF THE FAR EASTERN BRANCH OF THE RUSSIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES VIDEO VIA AP

A volcano near a major naval base on Russia's eastern coast erupted early Sunday after a powerful magnitude-7.0 earthquake struck in the Pacific about 63 miles away, according to Russian state-run media. It briefly triggered a "code red" warning for aircraft.

The Shiveluch volcano spewed an ash column as high as 5 mils above sea level and released a gush of lava, Tass news agency reported Sunday morning, citing scientists with the Institute of Volcanology and Seismology of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

The volcano is about 280 miles from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, a coastal city of more than 181,000 people in Russia's eastern region of Kamchatka. The city is surrounded by volcanoes and sits across a bay from an important Russian submarine base.

The Ebeko volcano located on Kuril Islands also spewed ash 1.5 miles high, the institute said. It did not explicitly say whether the earthquake touched off the eruptions.

A "code red" ash cloud warning briefly put all aircraft in the area on alert, the Kamchatka Volcanic Eruption Response Team reported. A separate report on Sunday carried by Tass said that no commercial flights had been disrupted and there was no damage to aviation infrastructure.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake occurred 18 miles below the surface of the Pacific Ocean. Its epicenter was about 63 miles east of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. There were no early reports of damage or injuries from the quake.

The quake prompted a tsunami warning that was later lifted.

The U.S. National Weather Service's Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Honolulu initially warned that hazardous tsunami waves were possible for coasts within 300 miles (480 kilometers) of the earthquake epicenter, but later announced the threat had ended.

The center said minor sea level fluctuations could occur in some coastal areas near the earthquake site for several hours.


This photo provided by the Institute of Volcanology and Seismology of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences on Sunday, Aug. 18, 2024, shows the eruption of the Shiveluch volcano reportedly caused by a 7.0-magnitude earthquake about 102 kilometers (63 miles) east of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky on the Kamchatka peninsula, Russia. VS FEB RAS VIA AP

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