After the brutal 8.7 magnitude earthquake in Kamchatka and the subsequent tsunami avalanche across half the world, now a volcano has erupted.
A huge cloud of ash and lava frightened local authorities, who issued an urgent"alert" appeal
The Klyuchevskaya volcano in Kamchatka has begun erupting lava after a strong earthquake shook the region, according to a statement from the Kamchatka branch of the Unified Geophysical Service of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS).
Last week, rescuers recommended that citizens not visit the Avachinsky, Bezimdzhani, Shiveluch, Klyuchevskaya, and Karymsky volcanoes due to the increased activity of these natural giants.
🌋 Russia: Preceding today's earthquake, an avalanche of lava came out of Klyuchevskaya Sopka, a stratovolcano in Kamchatka on July 26, near the earthquake epicenter.
— Igor Sushko (@igorushko) July 30, 2025
At 4,754m, it's the tallest volcano in all of Eurasia.
Ash is expected to reach an altitude of 10km if it erupts. https://t.co/VUHO6a01sq pic.twitter.com/YM7u7cA3fm
Official confirmation of the eruption
"Klyuchevskaya is erupting at this moment," the official statement said. The branch of the geophysical service also published photos of the eruption, taken by a camera installed at a seismic station.
The strongest earthquake since 1952
On Wednesday, Kamchatka was hit by the strongest earthquake since 1952, measuring 8.7 on the Richter scale. A tsunami threat has been declared and the population has been warned not to approach the coast in risk areas.
State of emergency in the Kuril Islands
The Sakhalin Oblast government announced earlier that a state of emergency had been introduced in the North Kuril District following the earthquake and tsunami.
Klyuchevskaya volcano, with a height of 4850 meters above sea level, is located in the Ust-Kamchatsky district of Kamchatka. The last eruption was recorded in April 2025.
