Nearly 1,500 cubic meters of volcanic ash removed from towns in Russia's Ust-Kamchatsk district

PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSKY. April 14 (Interfax) - Nearly 1,500 cubic meters of volcanic ash have been removed from towns in Russia's Ust-Kamchatsk district hit by ash fall from the erupting Shiveluch volcano, spokesperson for the Kamchatka territorial department of the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry Yulia Ananyeva told Interfax.

"A total of 960 cubic meters of volcanic ash have been collected and removed from the streets of Klyuchi, in addition to 396 cubic meters in Kozyrevsk," Ananyeva said.

Utility vehicles of local contractors cleaned the towns on Thursday, while the Klyuchi fire team used hoses to wash the local hospital.

A convoy of the Kamchatka rescue center of the Emergency Situations Ministry comprising about ten vehicles and 20 rescuers reached the Ust-Kamchatsk district on Friday. The rescuers will help local authorities clear socially significant facilities of ash.

People are supplied with drinking water in Klyuchi, and disposable medical masks are available at dispensing points.

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.

Scientists believe that the Shiveluch eruption will continue but on a lesser scale. The aviation alert was been downgraded from red to orange.

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.