Local authorities in southern Japan urged dozens of residents to evacuate their homes after a volcano erupted on Sunday, and the National Meteorological Agency issued the highest alert for Mount Sakurajima.
Television images showed cinder blocks erupting and dark smoke rising from the crater of the Sakurajima volcano in Kagoshima shortly after 20:00 (11:00 GMT).
Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihiko Isozaki noted that there had been no reports of damage so far.
Isozaki told reporters that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has directed the government to “work in close cooperation with the local municipality to ensure damage is avoided, including through evacuations.”
The volcano often emits smoke and ash and is a tourist attraction that attracts tourists.
On Sunday, the volcano released large clouds of ash that extended for a distance of about 2.5 km from the crater, according to a statement by the Japan Meteorological Agency, while the height of the smoke reached 300 meters and mixed with the clouds.
The agency raised its alert to the fifth level for Sakurajima, the highest level, and urged residents to evacuate. Before the eruption, the alarm was at the third level, prohibiting entry to the mountain.
Between Saturday and Sunday afternoon, the volcano erupted four times, and the height of the smoke cloud reached 1200 meters.
“Residential areas in the towns of Arimura and Furusato, which are within three kilometers of the summit of the crater … Sakurajima should be on the highest alert level,” said Tsuyoshi Nakatsuji, a spokesman for the agency’s volcanic watchdog.
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