Sakurajima Volcano Erupts in Japan: Largest Eruption in Decades Sends Ash Plume Miles High

Nick Wiltgen Published: Aug 19, 2013


Residents in a southern Japanese city were busy washing ash off the streets Monday after a nearby volcano spewed a record-high smoke plume into the sky.

Sakurajima, one of Japan's most active volcanoes, experienced one of its most powerful eruptions in decades Sunday, sending an ash plume as high as three miles into the air.

The volcano, located in the far southwestern part of Japan's mainland on the island of Kyushu, began to erupt at 4:31 p.m. local time Sunday (3:31 a.m. EDT U.S. time). The smoke plume eventually reached a height of 5,000 meters (approximately 16,000 feet), according to the Kagoshima Local Meteorological Observatory. Public broadcaster NHK reported it was the volcano's tallest ash plume since records began in 1955.

(WATCH: Ash Turns Day Into Night)

Visibility in the city of Kagoshima, where the volcano sits, deteriorated quickly as ash spread into populated portions of the city of 600,000 residents, according to the English-language NHK World website. NHK World said a pyroclastic flow, a fast-moving current of gas and rock, was observed along a one-kilometer (0.6-mile) swath on the southeast flank of the mountain.

People in Kagoshima city wore masks and raincoats and used umbrellas to shield themselves from the ash after the Sakurajima volcano erupted Sunday afternoon. Drivers turned on their headlights, and local media described the ash like driving through snow at night. Railway operators stopped service in the city temporarily so ash could be removed from the tracks.

Japanese news media said it was the 500th eruption of 2013 at Sakurajima. No injuries or damage were reported.

By Monday morning, the air was clearer as masked residents sprinkled water and swept up the ash. The city was mobilizing garbage trucks and water sprinklers to clean up.

"The smoke was a bit dramatic, but we are kind of used to it," said a city official who requested anonymity because he was not allowed to speak to the media.

JMA says there are no signs of a larger eruption but similar activity may continue. It was maintaining an earlier warning that people not venture near the volcano itself.

The eruption is the latest in a string of recent natural calamities in Japan. A deadly, record-shattering heat wave has gripped Japan most of this month. Northern Japan suffered deadly landslides earlier this month and has seen additional heavy rainfall and floods in more recent days.

Kagoshima, Japan

Kagoshima, Japan

Volcanic smoke billows from Mount Sakurajima in Kagoshima, Japan, Sunday, Aug. 18, 2013. Sunday's eruption marked the 500th eruption this year at the mountain, which is one of Japan's most active volcanoes. (AP Photo/Kagoshima Local Meteorological Observatory)

 

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