Japan’s Mt. Aso erupts, causes flight cancellations

Mt. Aso photo courtesy Reuters
Mt. Aso photo courtesy Reuters

Mount Aso in Japan’s southern Kumamoto prefecture began erupting on Friday (November 28), spewing a thick cloud of ash high into the air, and causing flight cancellations.

The eruption, which could be Mt. Aso’s first in the past 22 years, prompted safety alerts from Japan’s Interior Ministry

 A Level 2 warning for Mount Aso was issued by Japan’s Meteorological Agency after it began spurting magma and ash.

A Level 2 warning means the immediate area around the volcano’s crater is off limits.

While the observatory does not expect the eruption to increase in scale, several flights have been cancelled in the city of Kumamoto, the nearest to the volcano.

Mount Asi is the largest active volcano in Japan, and is among the largest in the world.

It stands in Aso Kujū National Park in Kumamoto Prefecture, on the island of Kyūshū. Its peak is 1592 m above sea level. Aso has one of the largest calderas in the world (25 km north-south and 18 km east-west).[The caldera has a circumference of around 120 kilometers.

At least 47 people were killed when Mount Ontake, 200 km (125 miles) west of Tokyo, erupted without warning in late September.  (with a report from Reuters)