Dam destroyed near Klyuchevskoy volcano in Russia

August 6, 2025

Vladivostok: A dam near the Klyuchevskoy Volcano on Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula has been destroyed, raising concerns about potential mudflows and disruptions in the region, according to local authorities.

Fieldwork conducted between July 30 and August 2, 2025, revealed that the dam, built in 2023 to separate the river’s two channels, has collapsed, allowing water to flow freely through both channels.

The Institute of Volcanology and Seismology of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences attributed the damage to increased volcanic activity caused by a powerful earthquake that struck the area on July 30.

Lava from Klyuchevskoy is currently moving toward the Bogdanovich Glacier, accelerating ice melt and causing large-scale mud and debris flows as meltwater rushes down the slopes. Experts warn that if these flows intensify, they could pose a danger to tourists in the Tolbachinsky Valley.

Earlier, on August 3, a magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck Russia’s Kuril Islands, with initial estimates at magnitude 6.35 and a shallow depth of 10 kilometers, later revised by the German Research Centre for Geosciences. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center measured the quake at magnitude 7.0 but confirmed that no tsunami warning had been issued. The earthquake was followed by aftershocks, including a 6.8 magnitude quake in Kamchatka, located 277 km from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky at a depth of 26 km.

Tsunami waves generated by the quake are expected to be small, not exceeding 19 cm, but local authorities have advised residents to stay away from coastlines as a precaution. Vessels in coastal waters have been warned to head out to sea beyond the 50-meter isobath and to sail perpendicular to the shoreline to ensure safety.