MOSCOW, October 24 (RIA Novosti) – A volcano on the east of Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula has thrown ash five kilometers (3.1 miles) into the air, the Emergencies Ministry said Thursday.
The Zhupanovsky volcano spurted the ash Wednesday night, with the resultant trail spreading 40 kilometers southeast, the ministry’s local office said in a statement.
The layer of ash was up to one millimeter thick. No residential areas affected, the ministry added.
The volcano was given an aviation color code yellow, indicating an alert level that means the “volcano is exhibiting signs of elevated unrest above known background levels.”
According to scientists, the volcano's last major eruption happened around 800 to 900 AD but low-level eruptions have since occurred periodically. The last one was in 1959.
