Japan’s Mount Shimmoe volcano cakes city in ash day after first explosive eruption in seven years
In Kirishima city at the foot of the volcano, pedestrians wore surgical masks or covered their noses with hand towels, while others used umbrellas to protect from falling ash
Powerful volcanic eruptions continued at Japan’s Mount Shimmoe on Wednesday, a day after its first explosive eruption in seven years, with smoke reaching up to 3,000 meters.
Local authorities around the 1,421-metre volcano that straddles Miyazaki and Kagoshima prefectures on the southwestern Japan main island of Kyushu remained cautious against further large-scale eruptions.
Ash spewed from the volcano continued to disrupt flights at the Kagoshima airport while the Japan Meteorological Agency maintained an alert level that restricts access to the mountain.
Following a small eruption on Thursday last week, active volcanic tremors had been detected before the volcano erupted explosively on Tuesday afternoon, according to the agency.
In an eruption early on Wednesday, a large volcanic rock flew about 1 kilometre from the crater, the agency said. No injuries or building damage have been reported.