PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSKY, September 19 (RIA Novosti, Oksana Guseva) - Seismic activity on Russia's far-eastern Kamchatka Peninsula is threatening the local population and air traffic in the area, local experts said Monday.
Seismologists with the Federal Center for Earthquake Prediction said Kamchatka's northernmost active volcano, Mount Shiveluch, could threaten nearby villages and towns with ash emissions, which could also disrupt air routes.
However, they do not expect any earthquakes measuring above seven on the Richter scale in the next week. The last strong earthquake, which was magnitude five, occurred in the south of Kamchatka on September 9.
According to the Moscow International Institute for Earthquake Prediction and Computing Geophysics, there is a 30% probability that an earthquake of more than 7.2 will hit Kamchatka by mid-December.
Since August, all regional rescue services have been put on high alert. Mobile tent camps have been set up in all cities and towns, and a Rescue Center mobile hospital has been deployed in the region.
