Evacuations Ordered After Sakurajima Erupts
The Japan Meteorological Agency says a volcanic eruption occurred on Sakurajima in southwestern Japan's Kagoshima Prefecture just after 8 p.m. on Sunday evening.
The agency estimates that imminent massive eruptions from the volcano are unlikely.
Still, the agency has raised the alert level to the highest level of 5. That's because officials confirmed that the eruption expelled large volcanic rocks a distance of more than 2.5 kilometers.
Kagoshima City officials have issued an evacuation order to residents in the two towns of Arimura and Furusato, comprising 33 households of 51 people.
Meteorological Agency officials say more large volcanic rocks could fall in parts of Kagoshima City within 3 kilometers of the two craters. They also say people should be on the alert for pyroclastic flows within a radius of about 2 kilometers.
One agency official said at a press conference that "Volcanic activities of Sakurajima are becoming intense. People in residential areas should be on the highest alert for large volcanic rocks falling nearby."
Meanwhile, people in those areas have started to evacuate. A woman told NHK that she didn't hear the eruption herself and she felt a bit scared.
Two scenarios were prepared for raising the alert level to 5 at Sakurajima. One is a huge eruption that would affect wide areas around the volcano.
The Meteorological Agency used as a reference the eruption that took place in 1914, killing 58 people, that was accompanied by earthquakes.
The other scenario is an eruption that is not as large, but has more volcanic activities than usual.
The agency made this prediction based on its analysis of seismicity, crustal movement, and other data after Sunday's eruption. The agency is not expecting the Sakurajima volcano to have imminent large-scale eruptions.
A task force has been set up at the prime minister's office. It has also assembled a team of officials from relevant ministries and agencies to assess the extent of the eruption, and necessary emergency measures.