A Japanese volcano has erupted, sparking a mass evacuation. Sakurajima, on the nation's western main island of Kyushu, started erupting at about 8:05 pm (11:05 GMT) on Sunday, the Japanese Meteorological Company has stated.
Onlookers noticed volcanic stones streaming down at an estimated distance of a whopping 1.5 miles from the volcano, NHK public tv stated, and the eruption alert stage has been raised to the very best potential.
Some areas have been warned to evacuate whereas residents of the town of Kagoshima have been ultimately urged to flee, regardless of beforehand being informed to keep away from “getting into the hazard zone”, the Mirror studies.
Three years in the past, Sakurajima spat out ash over three miles excessive, and is taken into account one in all Japan's most energetic volcanoes. Footage from Sunday's eruption confirmed what seemed to be sizzling lava flowing down one aspect of the volcano.
Enormous purple globules may be seen spitting out whereas plumes of smoke billowed up into the air. Officers at Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's workplace have been gathering details about the continuing emergency, it added.
Situated throughout Kagoshima Bay, which separates the town and the volcano by 4.2 km of water, its summit is simply 8 km east of the town of Kagoshima. Its proximity means a big eruption could possibly be lethal.
In 1984, an eruption on the volcano shattered the home windows of the Kyoto College observatory on the foot of the mountain.
The Japanese archipelago sits atop the Pacific “Ring of Hearth ” the place there are greater than 100 volcanoes. The 2014 eruption of Mount Ontake in central Japan killed 57 folks.
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