It has been 19 days and 11 days since the water column erupted in the forest on the premises of the shrine in Oshamambe, Hokkaido.
The momentum of the water does not seem to be abating, and life is affected by noise and splashes containing sand.
The water column was rising in the forest on the site of Iyu Shrine in Oshamambe Town, and suddenly erupted around the evening of the 8th of this month.
The water is about 30 meters higher than the surrounding trees, and it is constantly blowing up with a roaring sound. is affected by the fact that it is carried by the wind.
A man in his 70s who lives nearby said, "My car is dirty and I can't hang my laundry outside. Honestly, I'm annoyed and I want you to stop."
In addition, people who want to see the water column are visiting by car every day, and more and more people are parking on the street in residential areas, and the visibility of the road is getting worse.
The town has prepared parking lots for about 100 cars in three locations: the family sports center, the welfare center, and the learning and cultural center, and is calling for people not to park on the street. It means that the car is parked on the road and is struggling to respond.
A man in his 80s who lives nearby said, ``Usually there is not much traffic, but there are many people parking on the street and taking pictures, and the road is narrow and dangerous.''
Regarding the spouting water, Oshamanbe Town collected it on the 15th of this month and asked a water quality research company to investigate the ingredients, so the results are expected to come out in about 10 days.
Expert "Be careful with fire"
Regarding the water column in Oshamambe Town, Tetsuya Takahashi, senior researcher at the Hokkaido Research Organization Institute for Energy, Environment and Geology, said, "The eruptions are mainly combustible natural gas, and stratum water and groundwater erupt. I understand that it is a splash," he said.
On top of that, he points out, ``Be careful when handling fire, such as cigarettes and lighters, as it will ignite if it catches fire.''
Regarding the cause of the spouting water, he said, ``It has long been known that there is natural gas underground in Oshamanbe, and in the past, private companies have dug 11 wells to use the gas. It was returned, but it is believed that the pressure in the underground where the natural gas is is under pressure, and for some reason it reached the limit, and the gas spewed out at once for the first time in 60 years."
On the other hand, he said, ``If the height of the water column that is blowing up is slightly lower, we may be able to see the future, but it seems that the height of the water column has not changed yet, so we are not sure. We have no choice but to watch the eruption situation."