Source:
ReutersSun Jul 13, 2008 3:14am EDT
By Yereth Rosen
ANCHORAGE, Alaska, July 12 (Reuters) - A volcano in Alaska's Aleutian chain erupted on Saturday, sending a cloud of ash 35,000 feet (10.7 kilometres) into the air and prompting the evacuation of the 10 people who live on the eastern side of the island, officials said.
Okmok Volcano, located on Umnak Island, had an explosive eruption that started just before noon and was continuing through Saturday night, reported the Alaska Volcano Observatory, the joint state-federal agency that monitors Alaska's volcanoes.
The volcano rises to 3,520 feet (1,073-metre) and is located about 65 miles (105 kilometres) southwest of Unalaska/Dutch Harbor, a major fishing port with 4,300 full-time residents, and about 900 miles (1,450 kilometres) southwest of Anchorage.
Shortly after the eruption, the residents of the island's cattle ranch, located close to the volcano, placed a call seeking evacuation, the U.S. Coast Guard said. A fishing vessel took the Umnak residents to Unalaska, the Coast Guard said.
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