Sakurajima volcano in Japan erupts, alert level raised to highest - July 24, 2022

[Mary Wilson]

July 24, 2022

Mainichi Japan

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Sakurajima volcano in Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan, erupted Sunday, causing the eruption alert to be raised to its highest level, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

Volcanic stones fell up to 2.5 kilometers from the volcano, but there were no immediate reports of injuries following the eruption that occurred around 8:05 p.m., the agency and local police said.

Following the eruption, the agency raised its alert for the volcano from level 3 to 5 on its 5-point scale, warning the public to evacuate. It marks the first time that level 5 has been issued for the volcano.

... In the wake of Sunday's eruption, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida instructed his government to swiftly gather information on any damage caused and to set up ways to help local residents and hikers to evacuate.

The weather agency urged residents within a 3-km radius of the Minamidake and Showa craters to be aware of falling rocks, and called for strong caution against pyroclastic flows for those within a 2-km radius of the craters.

https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20220724/p2g/00m/0na/053000c

 

[Mary Wilson]

July 24, 202210:14 AM ET

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

TOKYO — A volcano on Japan's main southern island of Kyushu erupted Sunday night, spewing ash and rocks. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries in nearby towns but residents were advised to evacuate.

Japan's Meteorological Agency said Sakurajima volcano erupted at around 8:05 p.m., blowing off large rocks as far as 2.5 kilometers (1.5 miles) away in the southern prefecture of Kagoshima.

"We will put the people's lives first and do our utmost to assess the situation and respond to any emergency," Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihiko Isozaki told reporters. He called on residents in the area to pay close attention to the latest update from the local authorities to protect their lives.

The agency said it has raised the eruption alert to the highest level of five and about 120 residents in two towns facing the volcano were advised to leave their homes.

... The agency warned of falling volcanic rocks in areas within 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) of the crater and possible flow of lava, ash and searing gas within 2 kilometers (1.2 miles).

https://www.npr.org/2022/07/24/1113...vel-for-the-sakurajima-volcano-after-it-erupt

 

[sharon sanders]

Eruption at Sakurajima Raised to eruption alert level 5 and instructed 33 households to evacuate

July 25, 2022 7:22


On the night of the 24th, an explosive eruption occurred on Sakurajima in Kagoshima Prefecture, and a large volcanic bomb flew to about 2.5 km from the crater.
The Japan Meteorological Agency has issued an evacuation warning to Sakurajima, raising the evacuation alert level to the highest level of "evacuation", and calling for strict caution against large volcanic bombs in residential areas within approximately 3 km from the crater.
According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, an explosive eruption occurred at the crater at the summit of Mt. ..

The Japan Meteorological Agency issued an eruption warning saying that the volcanic activity of Sakurajima is very active, and raised the evacuation alert level to the highest level 5 "evacuation".

The Japan Meteorological Agency is urgently wary of large volcanic bombs in parts of Arimura-cho and Furusato-cho in Kagoshima City within 3 km from the Minamidake summit crater and Showa crater, and is calling for evacuation and other measures in accordance with information from local governments. ..

In addition, it is necessary to be cautious about pyroclastic flows within a range of about 2 km from the crater.

On the other hand, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency, as a result of analyzing observation data such as crustal movements of Sakurajima, a large-scale eruption that affects a wide area of ​​the island like the 1914 Taisho eruption is not imminent. That is.

Before this eruption, crustal movements indicating the expansion of the mountain body were observed, and since the mountain body has continued to expand after this eruption, the Japan Meteorological Agency will carefully monitor it.

Since the Japan Meteorological Agency introduced the eruption alert level at volcanoes nationwide in 2007, it is the second time that the level has been raised to 5 since it was announced on Kuchinoerabu Island in Kagoshima Prefecture in 2015, and Sakurajima. Then it is the first time.
Evacuation orders to parts of Arimura-cho and Furusato-cho

Kagoshima City was raised to level 5 "evacuation", which has the highest evacuation alert level in Sakurajima, and at 10:20 pm, a total of 33 households in Arimura-cho and Furusato-cho in Sakurajima 51 I issued an evacuation order to people.
33 people from 23 households evacuated (as of 8:00 am on the 25th)

According to Kagoshima City, as of 8:00 am on the 25th, 33 people from 23 households have evacuated to Higashisakurajima, a welfare center for the elderly near the southwestern coast of Sakurajima, which is about 4 km away from the Minamidake summit crater. is.

The city has issued evacuation orders to 51 people from 33 households in Arimura-cho and Furusato-cho on Sakurajima, and some residents are evacuating to places other than evacuation centers.

The city announced on the night of the 24th that it had confirmed the evacuation of all the targeted households, and so far no information on the damage has been entered.
Japan Meteorological Agency Mobile Survey Team to the site

Following the eruption of Sakurajima, the Japan Meteorological Agency will visit the site on the 25th to observe volcanic stones and volcanic gas.
No information on police fire damage

According to the Kagoshima Prefectural Police Headquarters and the Kagoshima City Fire Department, there is no damage information as of 9:20 pm on the 24th.
Sakurajima Hospital “No information on injured people or transportation”

According to Sakurajima Hospital in the southwestern part of Sakurajima, there is no information on the injured or transported by the eruption as of 9:10 pm on the 24th.
Expert "No signs of a large-scale eruption"

Professor Masato Iguchi of the Volcanic Activity Research Center of Kyoto University, who is familiar with the eruptive activity of Sakurajima, said, "The eruption of the Minamidake summit crater caused large volcanic blocks to scatter about 2.4 km east of the crater. "It happened frequently in the 1970s and 1980s," he said. "The crustal movements that indicate the expansion of the volcano that has continued since last week have not yet been resolved, but from the observation data so far, large-scale eruptions such as the Taisho eruption There are no signs. "
Expert "Be wary of future activities"

Regarding the eruption of Sakurajima, Professor Kazuhiro Ishihara of Kyoto University said, "It is a large-scale eruption in the recent volcanic activity of Sakurajima, and since the eruption exceeded 2.5 km, the Meteorological Agency set the eruption alert level to" 5 ". However, similar eruptions have occurred in Sakurajima in the past. "

Also, regarding the fact that crustal movements indicating the expansion of the mountain body were observed at Sakurajima earlier this month, "It is thought that the mountain body will contract to some extent due to this eruption, but it seems that the mountain body will expand again after the eruption has subsided. If so, an eruption of the same scale as this time may occur, so we need to be cautious about future activities. "
Sakurajima Recent activities

According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, slight crustal movements indicating the expansion of the mountain body have been observed on Sakurajima from the 18th of this month on the inclinometer and extensometer installed on the island, and the changes are generally stagnant from around 3 pm on the 20th of this month. It means that the state of doing so continued.

For this reason, the Kagoshima Local Meteorological Observatory should be wary of large volcanic bombs and pyroclastic flows within a range of approximately 2 km from the crater, as it may be accompanied by a large amount of eruption or a slightly large-scale explosive eruption may occur. I was calling.
Sakurajima Level 5 assumes two eruptions

In Sakurajima, it was raised to 5 for the first time since the introduction of the eruption alert level, but level 5 in Sakurajima assumes two eruptions of different scales, and the range of alert is different for each.

One of these is a large-scale eruption that affects a large area of ​​the island, and is expected to be a 1914 Taisho eruption class eruption more than 100 years ago.

It is expected that a large amount of magma will enter from the underground and erupt from the hillside, affecting a wide area of ​​the island, and the regional disaster prevention plan of Kagoshima City, where Sakurajima is located, has decided to evacuate the residents to the outside of the island. increase.

Another assumption is an eruption due to "extension of normal volcanic activity".

If an eruption occurs at the top of a mountain and a volcanic bomb or pyroclastic flow reaches or near an area where people live, we will raise it to level 5 according to the distance and expand the alert range.

In this case, Kagoshima City will not evacuate the entire island, but will call on residents in some areas near the crater to evacuate the island.

According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, as a result of analyzing observation data such as seismographs and crustal movements around Sakurajima, it is not the situation that a large-scale eruption that affects a wide area of ​​the island is imminent this time.
A volcanic bomb jumps over 3 kilometers and falls

This is the first time that the eruption alert level has been raised to 5 in Sakurajima, Kagoshima Prefecture, but in the past there have been eruptions that fall under level 5.

In the eruption that occurred on June 4, a large volcanic bomb flew over 3 kilometers from the crater.

The volcanic bomb had fallen only a little over 100 meters away from the inhabited area.

At that time, the eruption alert level was 3, and the point where the volcanic bomb flew was within the range that meets the criteria for raising to level 5, but the Japan Meteorological Agency confirmed that the volcanic bomb was flying over 3 km from the eruption. It was four days later.

The Japan Meteorological Agency did not raise the alert level to 5 due to this eruption, but initially explained that the reason was "the eruption itself is not level 5 and should not be overlooked."

However, he later revised the explanation and stated that "if we had confirmed the volcanic bomb immediately after the eruption, it would have been a case of raising it to level 5."
Prime Minister Kishida instructed to grasp the damage situation immediately

After the Japan Meteorological Agency announced an evacuation warning to Sakurajima, the evacuation alert level was raised to the highest level of "evacuation", and Prime Minister Kishida immediately grasped the damage situation and worked closely with local governments. Under the policy of putting human life first, the government will work as one to thoroughly implement measures to prevent damage such as evacuation of mountaineers and residents, and strengthen observations on the status of volcanic activity, and climbers and residents. Instructed to provide timely and accurate information to.
Information gathered by the government "Prime Minister's Office"

After the Japan Meteorological Agency announced an evacuation warning to Sakurajima, the evacuation alert level was raised to the highest level of "evacuation", and the government set up an information communication room at the crisis management center of the Prime Minister's Office. We have upgraded to the "Government Residence Countermeasures Office" and are collecting information by keeping in touch with related ministries and agencies.
Convene a government emergency rally team

The government convenes an emergency rally team of relevant ministries and agencies to the Crisis Management Center at the Prime Minister's Office to collect information and confirm damage.

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20220724/k10013734191000.html

 

[Mary Wilson]

Japan volcano erupts just 30 miles from nuclear power plant sending ash spewing into sky as evacuations ordered

15:02, 24 Jul 2022
Updated: 17:50, 24 Jul 2022

Adrian Zorzut

Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has ordered an evacuation of the surrounding Sakurajima area, where the eruption is taking place.

... Officials have also ordered the clearing of the towns of Arimura and Furusato, according to Asahi news outlet.

Local Mayor Takao Shimozuru has urged people to make their way to evacuation shelters outside the city.

He said: "We have also opened an evacuation centre and are calling for disaster prevention radio and fire brigade. Please evacuate."

Japan's public broadcaster NHK shared reports of stones being spewed out of Sakurajima volcano and coming down to earth 1.5 miles away.

Kagoshima sits across from the volcano and a nearby nuclear power plant.

Japan's nuclear regulators said on Sunday it had not noted any irregularities at the Sendar plant, which is 31 miles northwest of the crater.

... Meanwhile, two of Japan's national highways - No. 224 and No. 220 - have been shut blocking traffic from the south of the island, according to Kagoshima Ichiho - a disaster prevention centre based in Kagoshima.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/19301333/japan-volcano-erupts-nuclear-power-plant-evacuation/

 

[Mary Wilson]

Sendai Nuclear Power Plant

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Sendai Nuclear Power Plant (川内原子力発電所, Sendai Genshiryoku Hatsudensho, Sendai NPP) is a nuclear power plant located in the city of Satsumasendai in Kagoshima Prefecture. The two 846 MW net reactors are owned and operated by the Kyūshū Electric Power Company.

Sendai has two nuclear reactors, Sendai-1 and Sendai-2. Both are pressurized water reactors that make 890 MW of power with a core tonnage of 72 tons of uranium dioxide.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sendai_Nuclear_Power_Plant

 

[Emily]

https://owlcation.com/stem/Supervolcanoes-Around-the-World

Supervolcanoes Around the World
...

The Aira caldera in Kyushu, Japan was created 22,000 years ago in a massive eruption. Japan's most active volcano, Sakurajima, is fueled by the magma chamber of the Aira caldera.

 

[Mary Wilson]

Sakurajima Volcano Volcanic Ash Advisory: ERUPTED AT 20220725/2359Z FL110 EXTD E OBS VA DTG: 25/2350Z

Tue, 26 Jul 2022, 00:30
00:30 AM | BY: VN

Volcanic Ash Advisory Center Tokyo (VAAC) issued the following report:

FVFE01 at 00:14 UTC, 26/07/22 from RJTD
VA ADVISORY
DTG: 20220726/0014Z
VAAC: TOKYO
VOLCANO: SAKURAJIMA [AIRA CALDERA] 282080
PSN: N3136 E13039
AREA: JAPAN
SUMMIT ELEV: 1117M
ADVISORY NR: 2022/52
INFO SOURCE: HIMAWARI-8 JMA
AVIATION COLOUR CODE: NIL
ERUPTION DETAILS: ERUPTED AT 20220725/2359Z FL110 EXTD E
OBS VA DTG: 25/2350Z
OBS VA CLD: VA NOT IDENTIFIABLE FM SATELLITE DATA
...
RMK: WE WILL ISSUE FURTHER ADVISORY IF VA IS DETECTED IN SATELLITE
IMAGERY.

https://ds.data.jma.go.jp/svd/vaac/data/vaac_list.html


https://www.google.com/search?q=Japa...&bih=685&dpr=1