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Japan Declares Evacuation Alert after Sakurajima Volcano Erupts


Sun 24 Jul 2022 | 09:08 PM
Israa Farhan

On Sunday, authorities in southern Japan urged dozens of residents to evacuate their homes after a volcano erupted, for which the National Meteorological Agency declared a "high alert."

Television footage showed lava and dark ash plumes erupting from the Sakurajima volcano in Kagoshima, which erupted shortly after 8 pm (1100 GMT), according to AFP.

The volcano frequently emits smoke and ash, which is a major tourist attraction.

"Sunday's eruption pushed large debris 2.5 kilometers (1.5 miles) from the crater," the Japan Meteorological Agency said in a statement.

The agency raised the alert for Sakurajima to level 5, the highest, urging evacuation. Before the eruption, the warning was at the third level, which prohibited entry to the mountain.

"Residential areas of Arimura town and Furusato town within 3 km of the summit crater... of Sakurajima should be on high alert," the agency said.

According to Kagoshima City, there are 77 residents in the two towns.

Japan has dozens of active volcanoes and is located on the so-called "Ring of Fire" in the Pacific Ocean, where a large proportion of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are recorded in the world.

There were no immediate reports of damage, according to public broadcaster NHK.

Sakurajima was formerly an island, but due to previous eruptions is now attached to a peninsula.

Japan last issued the top evacuation alert for a volcano when Kuchinoerabu island, also in Kagoshima, erupted in 2015.