Japan warns tourists after eruption

Japan warns tourists after eruption
By Hannah Edensor


Japan has warned tourists to keep away from popular Mount Aso after it began belching smoke and ash, the latest eruption in one of the world’s most volcanically active countries.

Authorities issued their third-highest alert and cancelled flights after the huge volcano on the southwestern main island of Kyushu shot a column of ash several thousand metres into the clear sky.

The government said there were no immediate reports of injuries or casualties from the eruption, but the meteorological agency warned any tourists nearby to evacuate quickly.

At least seven domestic flights were cancelled due to the eruption, airlines said.

There were a handful of people at a parking lot near the peak but they were evacuated safely, officials said.

Television footage showed black smoke boiling into the sky and ash was falling as far as 4km away, NHK national television said.

Local authorities have set up a four-kilometre no-go zone around the crater, according to the ABC.

According to the Japan Airlines website, flights today are operating as normal, however are subject to the volcanic eruptions at Mt Aso.

“Before arriving at the airport we recommend checking Domestic Flight Status and Information for details for the latest information,” the airline said.

Mount Aso, a popular tourist and hiking spot, has been rumbling into life since last year and in August the meteorological agency also issued an alert after picking up increasing seismic activity around the volcano Sakurajima, south of Aso.

There are scores of active volcanoes in Japan, which sits on the so-called “Ring of Fire”, a tectonic zone that records a large proportion of the world’s earthquakes.

In June, search teams returned to the peak of Mount Ontake in central Nagano prefecture for the first time in eight months to look for the bodies of six climbers still missing after an eruption that killed dozens.

The shock explosion was Japan’s deadliest for almost 90 years, leaving an estimated 63 people dead, many of their bodies at least partially entombed in volcanic sludge.

Image: Straits Times

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