Volcanic eruption in Japan forces evacuations in 2 towns

TOKYO, July 25 (BNA) Dozens of people evacuated two towns on the main island of Kyushu in southern Japan, as a volcano shot ash and large boulders into the night sky.

Large boulders fell 2.5 kilometers (1.5 mi) from Sakurajima volcano in southern Kagoshima Prefecture.

Footage broadcast by Japan’s public television NHK showed orange flames glowing near the crater and dark smoke rising from the ash high above the mountaintop.

The Japan Meteorological Agency raised the eruption alert to the highest level of five and advised 51 residents in two towns facing the volcano to leave their homes, the Associated Press reported.

The city of Kagoshima said 33 of them had left their homes for a nursing home in a safer part of the area.

Others who have undergone evacuation may have been evacuated to other locations, NHK said.

“We will put people’s lives first and do our best to assess the situation and respond to any emergency,” Deputy Prime Minister Yoshihiko Isozaki said.

He called on residents to pay close attention to updates from local authorities to protect their lives.

Dust from ash appeared on cars in Kagoshima, but no damage or injuries were reported.

Schools in the area are in summer vacation but are closed to clubs and extracurricular activities.

The JMA has warned of the possibility of igneous rock falling within 3 kilometers (1.8 mi) of the crater and a possible flow of lava, ash and scorching gas within two kilometers (1.2 mi).

Chances of more violent eruptions were low, said Tsuyoshi Nakatsugi, a JMA official in charge of monitoring the volcano, but residents still had to be careful of rockfalls, mudslides and lava flows.

He also advised residents to close the curtains and stay away from windows that may be broken by the eruption of the volcano.

Sakurajima on the southern main island of Kyushu is one of the most active volcanoes in Japan and has erupted frequently.

It used to be an island but became a peninsula after the 1914 eruption of a volcano that killed 58 people.

ZHB