International volcano response drills begin in Russia’s Far Eastern Kamchatka

PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSKY, April 16. /TASS/. Aviation services of the Pacific countries have launched international exercises to drill cooperative skills to respond to volcanic ash eruptions in Russia’s Far Eastern Kamchatka Territory, Olga Girinia, the leader of the Kamchatka Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT) of the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Volcanology, told TASS on Thursday. "Under the exercise script, Volcano Ksudach has spewed ash to an altitude of 15.5 kilometres above sea level. The plume has spread 20 kilometres southeastwards. The ash poses hazard to aircraft," she said. The one-day drills were organized by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). They involve sectoral services and agencies from Russia, Japan, the United States, Canada, and China. "In Kamchatka, the KVERT team, the Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky airport and Kamchatearonavigatsia air navigation agency are taking part," she noted. The key task of the exercise is to drill cooperation between all the services concerned to prevent aircraft getting caught in an ash cloud. Such drills have been regularly organized since 2013. "The latest eruption of Volcano Ksudach took place in 1907, when an ash cloud spread over an area of more than 200 kilometres. This giant mount is among Kamchatka’s 30 active volcanoes," Girina said. Daily observation is made over Ksudach. The closest populated locality is the settlement of Ozernovsky some 200 kilometres off the giant mount, which poses no threat to people living there for that reason. However it might be highly dangerous of aircraft - ash particles might damage engines once getting there. In the meantime, aircraft flying over Kamchatka carry more than 10,000 passengers a day. Read more