Free Republic

A volcano erupted early Tuesday on Russia's far eastern Kamchatka Peninsula. The eruption of Shiveluch, one of the area's most active volcanoes, sent clouds of dust more than 65,000 feet into the sky, engulfing villages in gray dust. The ash cloud extended over more than 300 miles and the event triggered an aviation warning. Officials closed the skies over the area to aircraft and local authorities advised residents to stay indoors, with schools shuttered and power supplies cut for two villages for a few hours.

Moscow: A significant volcanic eruption in Kamchatka, a peninsula in far-eastern Russia, has prompted the Federal Agency for Air Transport, Rosaviatsiya, to issue a strong recommendation to aircraft to evaluate their flight paths. Rosaviatsiya said that the Bezymianny volcano, one of the most active in the area and located in the eastern section of the peninsula, erupted on Friday morning with a 12,000-meter column of ash that subsequently began to drift towards the southeast.