Ash blanket from Shiveluch volcano eruption in Russia reaches 20 cm - local authorities

PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSKY. April 12 (Interfax) - Local services have started cleaning social facilities in Klyuchi village of ash from the Shiveluch volcano's eruption in Russia's Far East, the ash blanket covering the village is 20 centimeters thick, according to a statement published on the website of the Kamchatka territorial government.

"The ongoing ash fall and high winds are hindering the work," the statement said.

The wind carries volcanic ash from the forest into villages of Klyuchi, Kozyrevsk and Maiskoye in the Ust-Kamchatsk district.

"The ash blanket is six to eight centimeters thick in Kozyrevsk. There is much more ash in Klyuchi. For now, the blanket is about 11 centimeters thick or even reaches 20 centimeters in places where the wind blows," the statement quoted deputy head of the Kamchatka territorial government Roman Vasilevsky as saying.

Vasilevsky, currently in Klyuchi to coordinate mitigation of the calamity, said that the ash fall continued overnight.

"Water and masks were delivered to social facilities in the morning, and some of the supplies were handed over to the military so that they also provide people. We are planning to start clearing snow today, primary near social facilities," he said.

The aftermath is being cleaned up. Specialists from the Emergency Situations Ministry, the territorial rescue agency, the regional branch of Rospotrebnadzor, and the Kamchatka Health Ministry are at work on the ground.

"Weathermen say that another cyclone will hit the Ust-Kamchatsk district in the coming days. There will be heavy snowfalls to prevent the ash from spreading," the statement said.

The paroxysmal stage of the Shiveluch eruption began early in the morning on April 11. The eruption reached its climax by Tuesday morning, and the volcano spewed out an ash column to a 20-kilometer altitude. Ash fall was observed in the Ust-Kamchatsk, Milkovo and Bystrinsky districts of Kamchatka. It was the heaviest in the Ust-Kamchatsk district. Klyuchi, the settlement nearest to Shiveluch, was hit by the heaviest ash fall in 60 years. Schools and social facilities suspended operation on Tuesday, and two populated localities of the district had several hours of a blackout. Schools in Kozyrevsk and Klyuchi in the Ust-Kamchatsk district cancelled classes on Tuesday. Children will be studying online from Thursday until the towns are cleared of ash.

Shiveluch is one of the largest volcanoes in Kamchatka. It has three main elements: the Old Shiveluch volcano, the ancient caldera and the active Young Shiveluch volcano. The lava dome of Young Shiveluch is 2,500 meters high. The volcano is located at the intersection of the Kuril-Kamchatka and Aleutian island arcs at a distance of 50 kilometers from the village of Klyuchi in the Ust-Kamchatsk district and 450 kilometers from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. Its age is estimated at 60,000-70,000 years.