Volcano erupts in Japan
2006-06-08 08:40
Tokyo - A volcano has erupted in southern Japan, spewing a plume of smoke about 1 000 metres into the air, the Weather Agency said. There were no reports of damage or injuries.
Mount Sakurajima erupted on Wednesday and registered as moderate on the agency's scale for both the sound and the strength of the tremors it caused, according to a volcano bulletin.
The eruption followed several smaller ones in recent days, but there was no other significant change in volcanic activity, the bulletin said. "We do not believe that a large-scale eruption is imminent," said agency official Akira Otani.
Authorities in the area have received no immediate reports of damage or injuries, according police official Shoichi Araki in Kagoshima city, across the bay from the volcano. There has been ash falling in the city for several days, he added.
The 1 117-metre high Sakurajima is one of Japan's most active volcanoes, and clouds of ash constantly drift from its crater. It sits in Kagoshima Bay, about 950km southwest of Tokyo, and remains under constant surveillance.
Sakurajima's last major eruption was in October 2000, when smoke rose about 5 000 metres into the air and blanketed Kagoshima city in dust. That eruption did not cause any injuries.
With 108 active volcanoes, Japan is among the most seismically active countries in the world. The nation lies in the "Ring of Fire" - a series of volcanoes and fault lines that outline the Pacific Ocean.
- AP