Lightning and fire: Japan on alert after volcano's biggest eruption in 50 years

[Watchman]

Lightning and fire: Japan on alert after
volcano's biggest eruption in 50 years

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 3:59 PM on 27th January 2011

A one-mile cordon has been established around a volcano on Mount Kirishima after it erupted scattering rocks and ash across southern Japan and sending smoke billowing 5,000ft into the air.

The Meteorological Agency raised the volcanic alert to level 3 as ash today continued to spew from Shinmoedake on Japan's southernmost main island of Kyushu, and residents have been banned from going within a mile of the volcano following its worst eruption in 50 years.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...-biggest-eruption-50-years.html#ixzz1CJb3Gh7q



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[Watchman]

Mount Kirishima Eruption: Japan Raises Alert After Volcano's Biggest Eruption In 50 Years
First Posted: 01/29/11 01:00 AM Updated: 01/29/11 01:03 AM

Japanese volcano group Mount Kirishima erupted this week in its biggest explosion since 1959. The Daily Mail reports that volcanic alerts have been raised as rocks and ash billow and spew nearly a mile in the air.

According to Bloomberg News, flights in the region have been canceled and nearby homes have been evacuated:

Shinmoedake, in the Kirishima range, erupted yesterday, spewing ash as high as 2,500 meters (8,200 feet) into the air, Japan's Meteorological Agency said in a statement on its website. A second eruption occurred today at about 1 p.m. local time, national broadcaster NHK reported. Ash from the volcano reached Miyazaki city, 50 kilometers (30 miles) to the east, according to the broadcaster.

Japan Airlines Corp. canceled 37 flights to or from nearby Miyazaki airport, according to its website today. Three additional flights will be scrapped tomorrow, it said. All Nippon Airways Co., Asia's largest listed carrier, canceled 24 flights affecting 3,350 people, spokeswoman Nana Kon said by phone today.

Japan has 108 active volcanoes (about ten percent of the world's total).
Check out the below video for stunning footage from this eruption.

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