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3.3 Environmental
impacts of seismic activity and volcanic eruptions
Kamchatka is an
area of seismic and volcanic activities. The last big tsunami occurred
in 1952 in the most populated region of the Avachinskaya Bay. An earthquake,
rated 7 on the Richter Scale, occurred there in 1962. People interviewed said
these disasters did not make any impact on flora and fauna of their villages.
However, volcano eruptions impact on flora and fauna through the fallout
of volcano ash.
There are several active volcanoes in the
study area; Klyuchevskoy, Tolbachik and Ichinsky. Interviewees from Klyuchi,
Milkovo, Esso and Anavgay villages mentioned that during intensive volcano
eruptions and big ash fall, herbivorous animals die because they eat vegetation
coated with ash and that carnivorous animals migrate from areas affected by ash
fall. People observed the increase of carnivorous animal populations after the
Klyuchevskoy and Tolbachik volcanic eruptions.
A Kamchadal man from Kluychi explained that during a volcanic eruption animals escape: �When Tolbachik was erupting in Ust-Kozyrevsk, all the animals came to our parts: sables, hares. During eruptions there is a thick layer of ashes; sables choke, poor things, their legs are too short, but they run. Besides, they have nothing to eat�. A Russian man from Kluychi said: �After the Tolbachik eruption in 1975, first of all, everything was covered with ash within a radius of 30 km; also reindeer died because they ate the moss mixed with scoria and ash. The lava set fire to the forest; there was a fire where it flowed. (�) During Klyuchevskaya eruptions over the past two years, plants became wild, very high and luxuriant. Ash is a fertilizer. So, volcanoes make not only harm, sometimes good.� A Kamchadal man from Kluychi also said that people�s harvest increases after volcano eruptions: �They gathered ash and used it as a fertilizer�.
Transcript from an interview with a Kamchadal man from Kluychi:
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Interviewer:
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�Have you noticed any changes in the
behaviour and number of wild animals before, during and after disasters?�
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Respondent:
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�About 10 years ago there were lots of
hares here, but there�ve been few of them over the last 5 years. There are
constant volcano eruptions: Klyuchevskaya, Bezymyanny and Sheveluch. The
ashes cover the grass, trees and bushes, and that�s what hares eat.�
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Interviewer:
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�Have you noticed any changes in the
lie of the ground, the structure of vegetation, and other natural phenomena
before disasters?�
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Respondent:
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�After the eruption of Tolbachik everything
was black in that area. Two years later grass appeared, and the next time I
got there was 10 more years later and I didn�t recognize the place: the
vegetation was luxuriant. I�ve noticed that after eruptions honeysuckle grows
bigger than usual and bird cherries are the size of cherries. The number of
salmon is increasing due to eruptions, though a lot of deer died in
Bysrtinsky region after Tolbachik eruption. They used to graze beyond
Klyuchevskaya, and after the eruption of 5 July the deer ate ashes together
with moss.�
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