Residents have had to be evacuated due to the volcanic eruption. No one has been reported injured.
Dozens of people have had to be evacuated from two population centers after the eruption of the Sakurajima volcano on the southern Japanese island of Kyushu.
The Japan Meteorological Agency issued the highest level of warning due to the eruption and urged more than fifty people living near the volcano to leave their homes.
The department has warned that rocks thrown by the eruption can end up up to three kilometers away from the crater, and lava, ash and burning gas within a radius of two kilometers. Residents have been advised to close the curtains and stay away from windows.
The Japanese broadcasting company NHK has transmitted a picture from the area, showing large orange flames near the crater and dark smoke and ash rising high above the mountain peak.
The largest rocks from the eruption have been observed 2.5 kilometers away from the volcano.
According to the nuclear power authorities, the detonation has had no impact on the country’s nuclear power plants. The closest nuclear power station to the volcano, Sendai, is located about 50 kilometers away.
Sakurajima is one of Japan’s most active volcanoes and has erupted repeatedly. In 2019, the volcano spewed ash to a height of 5.5 kilometers.
Sakurajima used to be located on a separate island. It formed a peninsula due to the 1914 eruption. 58 people died in the eruption.
Sakurajima is located about 1,000 kilometers southwest of Tokyo.