A volcano exploded into life Friday morning on lightly populated Kuchinoerabu Island in Kagoshima Prefecture, sending smoke and ash soaring into the sky. Authorities ordered residents and visitors to evacuate.
The 9:59 a.m. “explosive” eruption of the 650-meter Mount Shindake, the main peak on the island, resulted in a plume over 9 km high and a pyroclastic flow which reached the coast, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
Residents and visitors on Kuchinoerabu were expected to be evacuated by ferry and coast guard vessel to the nearby island of Yakushima by Friday evening, Yakushima town office said. The island 100 km south of Kyushu, the third largest island of Japan.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters, “I have instructed the relevant personnel to do all they can to ensure the safety of islanders.”
bbabo.Net