Volcano destroys two science bases in Kamchatka

Streams of lava wiped out two scientific bases in the Far Eastern region of Kamchatka, a local branch of the Geophysical Service of the Russian Academy of Sciences said on Thursday. The bases were 10 kilometers away from the Plosky Tolbachik volcano, which awoke earlier this week after decades of slumber. Populated areas in the vicinity of the erupting volcano have been hit by falling ash while the smell of sulfur and chunks of molten rock fill the air. In the village of Kozyrevsk, schools and kindergartens have cancelled all classes. The nearest town is 60 kilometers away from the foot of the volcano. The latest eruption of the volcano, which is part of the Klyuchevskaya volcanic system, was registered in 1975-1976. That eruption changed the surrounding topography and ended with a local natural disaster. All forms of life within dozens of kilometers from Plosky Tolbachik’s crater were eradicated back then. The current eruption has been qualified as posing the second highest hazard for aviation by researchers from the Kamchatka Volcanology and Seismology Institute. At the same time, volcanologists used the occasion to pass on their congratulations to their colleagues over the remarkable natural event on their website.