A powerful 8.8 magnitude earthquake struck off Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula, causing several volcanoes to erupt after centuries of dormancy. Klyuchevskaya Sopka erupted for the first time in 600 years, while Shiveluch, Bezymianny, Karymsky, and Avachinsky also resumed activity after about 300 years. A thermal anomaly at Mutnovsky suggests more eruptions may follow. Experts note that simultaneous volcanic eruptions are rare, but the risk to human life remains low. The earthquake is among the strongest recorded, with a direct connection to the surge in volcanic activity across the region.
The 8.8 magnitude quake, followed by multiple aftershocks as strong as magnitude 6, appears to have reawakened long-dormant giants. Klyuchevskaya Sopka erupted a day after the seismic event for the first time in 600 years.
If more eruptions occur throughout the Ring of Fire, Papadopoulos said the risk to human life remains low, but added: 'It would for sure make for an exciting event.'
The Ring of Fire is a 25,000-mile horseshoe-shaped belt of volcanoes and fault lines that circles the Pacific Ocean, home to about 75 percent of the world's active volcanoes and frequent earthquakes.
Data from the US Geological Survey (USGS) indicates the quake struck about 84 miles east-southeast of Kamchatka at 7:24pm ET, making it the sixth strongest earthquake ever recorded.
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