Mount Kirishima's Shinmoedake peak, seen from Takaharu, Miyazaki Prefecture, spews ash Thursday morning. KYODO PHOTO
Mount Kirishima continued erupting Thursday on the border between Kagoshima and Miyazaki prefectures, spewing columns of smoke up to more than 2,500 meters, the weather agency said.
Rocks were blasted as far as 8 km from Kirishima’s Shinmoedake peak, according to the Meteorological Agency. Volcanic ash disrupted train and flight services in the area. The agency revised the scale of the eruption upward to “medium” from the initial “small,” after the smoke columns reached about 500 meters higher than Wednesday. …. Volcanic tremors indicating magma activities also continued Thursday.
The first in-depth eruption began Wednesday at around 7:30 p.m., when the 1,421-meter Shinmoedake peak began spewing debris in its second outburst since a small eruption Jan. 19, the agency said. According to the Miyazaki Observatory, ash is falling on a wide area that includes the cities of Miyazaki and Nichinan in Miyazaki Prefecture, and has partially closed expressways in Kyushu.
Japan’s government issued alerts after a volcano on the southern island of Kyushu erupted for the first time in 52 years, causing the evacuation of homes and cancellation of more than 60 flights.
Shinmoedake, in the Kirishima range, erupted yesterday, spewing ash as high as 2,500 meters (8,200 feet) into the air, Japan’s Meteorological Agency said in a statement on its website. A second eruption occurred today at about 1 p.m. local time, national broadcaster NHK reported. Ash from the volcano reached Miyazaki city, 50 kilometers (30 miles) to the east, according to the broadcaster.
Japan Airlines Corp. canceled 37 flights to or from nearby Miyazaki airport, according to its website today. Three additional flights will be scrapped tomorrow, it said. All Nippon Airways Co., Asia’s largest listed carrier, canceled 24 flights affecting 3,350 people, spokeswoman Nana Kon said by phone today.
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