Mount Aso Volcano – crater
(Mirror Daily, United States) One of the largest volcanoes in the world erupted in Japan on Saturday. Officials announced that Mount Aso Volcano erupted at 1:46 a.m. local time. Ash and smoke were released eleven thousand meters high in the air. Fortunately, no victims were reported.
Japan’s Meteorological Agency was in charge of monitoring the activity of Mount Aso Volcano. The eruption occurred on one of the peaks of the mountain, which is located in Kumamoto Prefecture. Although the area is a tourist attraction, no people were injured.
Authorities set a warning. The activity of Mount Aso Volcano is labeled as level 3 out of 5, which is quite dangerous. The alert keeps people away from the area. No less than ten prefectures are under the warning.
Footage shows how rocks and ash fell all over the city of Aso. Roads and houses were covered in the gray volcanic dust. People reported that their crops were also affected, as small rocks destroyed greenhouses. The effects of the volcanic eruption were visible miles away from the mountain.
Reports from electricity providers show that the power was off because of the eruption. Almost thirty thousand houses experienced power cuts on Saturday. However, it was only for a short time interval.
Even officials were impressed about how high the smoke and ash rose. They say that it rarely happens that a smoke column should be more than ten thousand meters high.
Mount Aso is located on the island of Kyushu, one of Japan’s main islands. The mountain can be found in the Aso Kujū National Park, a place where visitors like to go. Its highest peak stands 1,592 meters tall, while its circumference measures one hundred twenty-eight kilometers. Mount Aso volcano is also one of the most active in the Japanese archipelago. It is also part of the Pacific’s Ring of Fire, which is a chain of active volcanoes, placed along fault lines.
Mount Aso volcanos erupted last year too, in September. However, ash and smoke rose only two kilometers high. The eruption canceled flights in the area at least for that respective week. A warning was issued back then too, and it also was a 3 level alert.
Officials say that a new such phenomenon could happen again, as the volcano is active. It is the largest in Japan. However, it was the eruption of Mount Ontake in 2014 which is considered to be the most violent and damaging such phenomenon in recent years for the Japanese people.
Image courtesy of: Wikipedia