This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/14/japanese-volcano-mount-aso-on-island-of-kyushu-erupts
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Japanese volcano Mount Aso on island of Kyushu erupts | Japanese volcano Mount Aso on island of Kyushu erupts |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Mount Aso, a volcano on Japan’s main southern island of Kyushu, erupted on Monday, Japan’s Meteorological Agency said, blasting a plume of black smoke 2km (1.2 miles) high, but there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries. | |
| The 1,592-metre (5,222ft) Mount Aso is one of the most active peaks in Japan but is also a popular hiking spot. There were a handful of people at a parking lot near the peak but they were being evacuated safely, officials said. | |
| They said the eruption had come without warning. | |
| Kyushu Electric Power Co said the eruption would have no impact on its nuclear plants, one of which – the Sendai nuclear plant, roughly 160km (100 miles) south of Mount Aso – was restarted in August. | |
| Television footage showed black smoke boiling into the sky and ash was falling as far away as 4km (2.5 miles) away, NHK national television said. | |
| Japan lies on the “Ring of Fire” – a horseshoe-shaped band of fault lines and volcanoes around the edges of the Pacific ocean – and is home to more than 100 active volcanoes. | Japan lies on the “Ring of Fire” – a horseshoe-shaped band of fault lines and volcanoes around the edges of the Pacific ocean – and is home to more than 100 active volcanoes. |
| Mount Ontake in central Japan erupted unexpectedly in 2014, killing 63 people, the worst volcanic disaster for nearly 90 years. In May, a remote island south of Kyushu was evacuated due to another eruption. | |