Japan’s Mount Aso erupted yesterday, spewing a giant column of ash thousands of meters into the sky as hikers rushed away from the popular tourist spot.
No injuries were immediately reported after the late-morning eruption in southwest Japan, which sent rocks flying in a dramatic blast captured by nearby CCTV cameras.
People were warned not to approach the volcano as it ejected hot gas and ash as high as 3,500m, and sent stones tumbling down its grassy slopes.
Photo: Kyodo / via Reuters
Authorities were checking if any hikers had been trapped or injured, officials told local media, as TV footage showed dozens of vehicles and tour buses parked at a nearby museum that has a clear view of the volcano.
Pale gray torrents of ash were seen rushing down Aso’s slopes toward the museum, but did not reach the site.
For those near the mountain, “caution must be exercised for large flying rocks and flows of pyroclastic materials,” Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) official Tomoaki Ozaki said.
“Caution is warranted even in far-away areas downwind, as the wind may carry not just ash, but also pebbles,” Ozaki told a televised news conference, warning that toxic gases might also have been emitted.
The last time the JMA raised its warning for Aso to yesterday’s level — three out of five — was when it erupted in 2016, having rumbled to life the previous year after being dormant for 19 years.
The agency has been warning of increasing volcanic activity there in the past few days, including a small eruption on Thursday last week.
Mount Aso’s huge caldera dominates the southwestern main island of Kyushu, where the 1,592m volcano is a popular tourist draw.
Japan is one of the world’s most volcanically active countries.
It sits on the so-called Pacific “Ring of Fire” where a large proportion of the planet’s quakes and volcanic eruptions are recorded.
In September 2014, Japan experienced its deadliest eruption in almost 90 years when Mount Ontake, in central Nagano Prefecture, burst unexpectedly to life, killing an estimated 63 people.
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