Spectaculaire uitbarstingen vulkaan Sakurajima in Japan

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Shinmoedake probably keeps erupting next weeks
Mount Shinmoedake straddling Miyazaki and Kagoshima prefectures will continue its explosive eruptions over the next couple of weeks, according to a report by the government's Coordinating Committee for Prediction of Volcanic Eruption.

As the 1,421-meter volcano keeps threatening the lives of local residents, the committee met for an emergency executive meeting at the Meteorological Agency in Tokyo on Feb. 3.

"Over the next one to two weeks, the volcano is expected to repeat its explosive eruptions, emitting as much lava as it is at the moment," the committee concluded.

The committee, however, did not make any long-term predictions about what the volcano will do. The panel of volcanologists and other experts will intensify observations and analyses of subterranean magma activities using seismometers and angle meters.

Shinmoedake's magma chambers are estimated to have shrunk by a volume of 5.5 million cubic meters between the first eruption and Jan. 28, and committee chairman Toshitsugu Fujii, professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo, pointed to a slowing of that contraction since Jan. 31 -- indicating a decrease in subterranean magma -- as the basis for the committee's short-term prediction. As to the ongoing eruptions, Fujii explained that there has likely been a continued supply of magma corresponding to the scale of the explosions.

Fujii ruled out the possibility of massive eruptions on the scale of those on Jan. 26 and 27 over the next two weeks.

Currently, Mount Shinmoedake's crater is covered by lava, and some experts fear that a massive eruption could blow off the lava cap and cause pyroclastic flows. However, Fujii dismissed such concerns, saying, "That would take place only after the volcano has resumed its upthrust to some extent, and that is not likely to occur in the next month considering the current state of the mountain."

As to the fact that the Meteorological Agency has not downgraded its alert level concerning the volcano's eruptions since Jan. 26, Fujii said, "That's not something our committee should decide, but considering the situation has not changed, I think the alert level is appropriate."

The extraordinary executive meeting was held for the first time since December 2004, when it discussed volcanic activity on Miyakejima Island south of Tokyo.

In a related development, the committee decided to call the "lava dome" -- which is currently covering Shinmoedake's 700-meter-diameter crater -- simply "lava" on the grounds that the lava is relatively flat in shape.

According to the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan, the lava in the crater is believed to measure some 600 meters in diameter and stands up to around 110 meters high.

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Another Japanese Volcano Erupts

And another volcano has erupted in Japan.

Minami-dake crater at Sakurajima, a volcano on Japan's southern island of Kyushu, erupted Tuesday, following volcanic explosions at Mt. Kirishima in the same region.

The volcano spewed plumes of smoke and ash up to 2,000 meters into the air.
Local authorities temporarily banned citizens from driving near the area due to the sheer amount of ash raining down from the volcano.

Japan's Meteorological Agency says it will maintain a level 3 alert for Sakurajima that bans access to the mountain.

The agency notes, however, that it cannot confirm that this eruption was linked to a series of recent eruptions on the island.

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Growing Fears in Japan As 2 Volcanoes Erupt Again

Two volcanoes on Japan's southern island of Kyushu erupted on Tuesday.
A volcano at Sakurajima, the Minamidake crater, erupted early Tuesday followed by an eruption at Shinmoedake in the afternoon.

Shinmoedake erupted for the first time in 52 years last month and has erupted more than ten times since.

[Interview : Nearby resident] "This is crazy! Strong winds suddenly came and blew everything away."

Amid growing fears that a massive eruption could still be on its way the latest eruptions covered nearby villages with rocks and ash.
The two volcanoes spewed plumes of smoke and ash up to 2-thousand meters into the air resulting in multiple injuries and destroyed homes.

[Interview : Nearby resident] "The volcanic ash keeps piling up here, no matter how much we shovel it away."

According to Japan's Meteorological Agency, a lava dome in the Shinmoedake crater is growing and could spill out creating a lava flow.

Authorities therefore are maintaining a restricted zone of four kilometers around the volcano.
A level 3 alert is being maintained for both regions with 5 being the highest level when evacuations are carried out.
And volcanic experts are warning that the recent eruptions on Shinmoedake and other peaks in Japan resemble the highly destructive blasts that occurred 300 years ago which killed more than 30 people.

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Smoke rises from Shinmoedake peak, a mountain in the Kirishima volcanic range between Kagoshima and Miyazaki prefectures, as seen from Kirishima, southern Japan February 11, 2011. REUTERS/Kyodo (JAPAN)

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A volcano in southwestern Japan has erupted for the first time in eight days, sending plumes of smoke billowing into the sky.

The explosion at Mount Shinmoe occurred before noon on Friday.

The smoke from the blast rose to a height of 2,500 meters, while the impact sent powerful vibrations through the mountain valleys.

Mount Shinmoe is located in the Kirishima mountain range between Kagoshima and Miyazaki prefectures.

The volcano came to life in late January. The most recent eruption took place on Thursday last week.

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Shimoedake may continue to erupt for months

Shinmoedake, on Japan's Kyushu Island, has been erupting off and on since Jan. 26, and its lava dome has grown dramatically. A photo from Feb. 4 shows the lava nearly filling the volcano's crater, which is about 2,300 feet wide. Scientists are predicting that eruptions could grow stronger and go on for months. The peak's last major eruption continued for a year and a half in 1716 and 1717. The University of Tokyo's Earthquake Research Institute is posting regular updates and photos. Ash from the volcano, although minor compared with what spewed from a peak in Iceland last year, has disrupted flights and buried fields of winter vegetables. There have been no deaths or serious injuries so far.

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Mudslide warning issued for volcano

MIYAKONOJO, Miyazaki Pref. (Kyodo) The city of Miyakonojo, Miyazaki Prefecture, issued an evacuation advisory Thursday to about 2,520 residents in 1,150 households as continued rain could trigger mudslides of accumulated ash from Mount Shinmoe's recent eruptions.

The evacuation advisory, issued at 11 a.m., was the first aimed at averting damage from possible mudslides since the volcano started a series of eruptions Jan. 26.

The town of Takaharu, Miyazaki Prefecture, meanwhile issued an alert urging around 250 residents of 99 households and a business establishment to prepare for evacuation to avoid being hit by mudslides.

Miyakonojo officials said 19 mm of rain had fallen in some areas as of 8:30 a.m. Thursday and was expected to continue into the afternoon.

The city issued an alert Wednesday night urging elderly and other residents needing assistance to start evacuating the area, while calling on others to prepare for evacuation.

The Miyazaki Local Meteorological Observatory cautioned that hourly rainfall of 4 mm or more was expected to continue through Thursday night, possibly triggering mudslides in locations where large amounts of ash have accumulated

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How long will volcano-show Shinmoe continue?
OSAKA — In late January, Mount Shinmoe, one of a cluster of volcanoes on a mountain range straddling Kagoshima and Miyazaki prefectures, woke back up.

Known among James Bond fans as the site of the secret rocket base in "You Only Live Twice," Mount Shinmoe had been quiet for more than half a century, but its most recent eruptions sent plumes of ash, gas and debris into the atmosphere and shattered windows 8 km away.

Volcanoes in fact can be found from Hokkaido all the way to the Ryukyu islands, making the Japanese archipelago one of the world's most volcanically active.

Is Mount Shinmoe in danger of a massive eruption soon?

A lava dome is growing in its 1,421-meter-high crater, but as of late February it was not certain whether a single, massive eruption would occur. Its most recent outbursts have varied in size, and such activity could continue for a long period of time. Mount Shinmoe's last major eruptive episode began in 1716 and lasted for 1 1/2 years.

Are there other volcanoes in danger of erupting?

There are 108 active volcanoes on, or under, the seabed near Japan's four main islands. Thirteen have been classified by the Geological Society of Japan as Class A volcanoes — those exhibiting the highest level of activity.

That doesn't mean an eruption is imminent. It only means the odds of one happening are greater in comparison with other officially designated volcanoes.

How often do Japan's volcanoes erupt?

Some, like Mount Nigorigawa in southern Hokkaido, haven't done anything since at least the Pleistocene epoch ended about 12,000 years ago. Others, like Mount Fuji, which last erupted in 1707, have been quiet for hundreds of years. But 34 volcanoes went off in the 20th century, and since 2000 there have already been a dozen eruptions.

What are the most powerful and destructive volcanic eruptions ever recorded in Japan?

In 1792, Mount Unzen, another Kyushu volcano situated near Shimabara, Nagasaki Prefecture, erupted. The volcano and a resulting tsunami killed around 15,000 people. But an even more powerful volcano in the Kikai Caldera, a series of underwater volcanoes off the island's southern coast, erupted between 8,000 and 9,000 years ago.

Known as the Akahoya eruption, it discharged an estimated 150 cu. km of lava and ash that reached southern Kyushu, causing massive environmental destruction.

What other recent eruptions have occurred?
Mount Unzen was particularly active in the 1990s. In June 1991, a large eruption occurred after six months of smaller blasts, sending lava flows 4.5 km from the crater and killing 43 people.

Over the next three years, another 10,000 smaller eruptions that caused lava flows were recorded, although none as powerful as the June 1991 pyroclastic blast. By 1995, the eruptions had come to an end.

In July 2000, the 813-meter Mount Oyoma on Miyakejima Island began erupting. All 3,800 of the island's residents were evacuated, and they were not allowed to return to live there until early 2005.

A less severe eruption of 2,565-meter Mount Asama, between Gunma and Nagano prefectures, took place in February 2009. Smoke billowed more than 2,000 meters into the air and rocks were thrown more than a kilometer from the crater. Ash fell as far as central Tokyo.

Sakurajima, a former island volcano in Kyushu that became physically connected with the Osumi Peninsula thanks to lava from the 1914 eruption, can stay active for days, threatening the nearby city of Kagoshima.

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Vulkaan in zuiden van Japan wordt aktief
Na een zware aardbeving, een verwoestende tsunami en problemen bij een kerncentrale, staat Japan nu nog een probleem te wachten. In het zuidwesten van het land is een vulkaan actief geworden.

De vulkaan hield zich de afgelopen twee weken rustig maar begon vandaag weer met het spuwen van as en stenen. Die vlogen tot wel vier kilometer hoog de lucht in.

De activiteit van de vuurspuwende berg hoeft niet in verband te staan met de zware aardbeving van vrijdag. De ruim 1.400 meter hoge Shinmoedake is de afgelopen 52 jaar al bij vlagen actief. De berg is voorlopig ontruimd, omwonenden hoeven hun boeltje nog niet te pakken. (anp/gb)

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Japanese volcano re-awakens after few weeks
TOKYO -- The weather agency says a volcano in southern Japan is spewing ash and rock again as the country struggles with the aftermath of a catastrophic earthquake and tsunami in the north.

The Meteorological Agency issued a warning Sunday saying that Shinmoedake volcano resumed activity after a couple of quiet weeks.

The mountain is on Kyushu island, 950 miles (1,500 kilometers) from the epicenter of Friday's magnitude 8.9 earthquake and resulting tsunami, which devastated much of the country's northeastern coast.

It was unclear if the eruptions were linked to quake. Japan lies on the "Ring of Fire" - an arc of seismically active zones where earthquake and volcanic eruptions are common.

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Japanese volcano back into action
TOKYO, March 14 (UPI) -- A volcano belched in south Japan but it wasn't clear if its volatility was linked to the destructive quake and tsunami that decimated the northeast.

Japan's weather agency reported the Shinmoedake volcano in far southern Kyushu island, calm the past two weeks, resumed activity Sunday with a loud blast, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The volcano's crater was firing off ash and rock thousands of feet into the air, while the country deals with the horrific carnage the quake-tsunami inflicted on the northeast, where tens of thousands of people are dead or missing, and the economic fallout that threatens financial pain, as well.

The Times report said the volcano is about 950 miles from the epicenter of Friday's magnitude-9.0 earthquake.

While it was not clear if the ash-rock display resulted from the temblor, the report reminded Japan lies on the "ring of fire," a seismically active zone where earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are common.

The volcano had been mostly dormant for two years except for a brief eruption on Jan. 19 and experts at the time had warned of a "lava dome" taking shape inside the crater.

Sunday's activity was described as the most violent in 52 years and did its share in causing hundreds to flee and shattering windows four miles away, the BBC reported.