Volcano Erupts In Southern Japan

Mt Sakurajima Erupting

A volcano on Japan’s central western island of Kyushu erupted Sunday evening, sending black smoke billowing high. Still, there were no immediate reports of any damage or injuries, and authorities said they did not expect a major eruption.

The volcano is called Sakurajima and is located on the southern tip of Kyushu near the city of Kagoshima.

This time-lapse video, shared on Twitter, shows the cloud of molten ash being fired into the air.

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Volcanic stones rained down at a distance of 1.5 miles from the volcano, a JMA official said. He added that the eruption alert level had been raised to 5, with some areas advised to evacuate, but no large eruption was expected.

Sakurajima is one of Japan’s most active volcanoes; eruptions of varying levels occur regularly. In 2019 it spewed ash 3.4 miles into the air.

There were no immediate reports of damage from Sunday’s eruption, deputy chief cabinet secretary Yoshihiko Isozaki told a news conference as the situation on the ground was still developing.

Closer up you can see this lava flow coming thick from the point of eruption.

Nuclear regulators said no irregularities were detected at the Sendai atomic plant, about 31 miles from the volcano.

The JMA said rain was expected in some areas near the volcano on Monday but not the heavy rain that could cause mudslides following the eruption.

Most of the city of Kagoshima is across the bay from the volcano. Still, several residential areas within 1.9 miles of the crater may be ordered to evacuate depending on the situation.

For more on this story, please consider these sources:

  1. Sakurajima, western Japan volcano, erupts  The Washington Post
  2. Japan’s Sakurajima volcano erupts, prompting highest alert  CNN
  3. Japan’s Sakurajima volcano erupts, prompting evacuations  NPR
  4. Japan’s Sakurajima volcano erupts, prompting evacuation alerts  USA TODAY
  5. Volcano erupts on Japanese island Kyushu, prompting evacuations  Al Jazeera English
John Nightbridge
John Nightbridge is a veteran reporter, researcher, and economic policy major from UCLA. Passionate about world issues and potential ways to solve them is a significant focus of his work. Writing freelance and reading the news are John's passions at work. Outside of work, it's all about sky diving, surfing, and stock market modeling.

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