Japan’s Mount Aso volcano spews ash 11km into the sky

An alert has been raised after a Japanese volcano began spewing plumes of smoke and ash 11km (6.8 miles) into the sky. Pictures on Japanese public broadcaster NHK showed fires burning in several locations on Mount Aso on the island of Kyushu, Kumamoto Prefecture. There have been reports an explosion blew off bits of volcanic rock and ash. Japan’s Meteorological Agency has raised its alert to Level 3, banning people from the mountain.

We are concerned that more damage on crops will be reported.

Aso city hall official

The volcano came to life in 2014 when it began spewing volcanic rocks and it last erupted a year ago, leading officials to ban travel within a mile of the mountain. It is not known if the volcano’s recent activity is related to earthquakes that rattled Japan in August, but meteorologists say the mountain remains in an unstable condition and could erupt again.

Asia-Pacific