Explosive eruptions increased on Suwanose Island in Toshima Village, Kagoshima Prefecture, reaching a total of 25 times in the five days until the 5th.
The Japan Meteorological Observatory has issued a warning around the crater again, raising the volcanic alert level of Suwanosejima to Level 3, ``access restrictions'', and calling for caution against large volcanic blocks within a range of about 2 km from the crater.
According to the observations of the Kagoshima Local Meteorological Observatory, at around 6:20 am on the 5th, an explosive eruption occurred at Mt.
With this, the total number of explosive eruptions reached 25 in the five days from the 1st to the 5th of this month. The volcanic alert level has been raised from Level 2, "Crater Restrictions" to Level 3, "Mountain Access Restrictions".
The Japan Meteorological Observatory is calling for caution against large volcanic blocks within a range of about 2 kilometers from the Mitake crater.
The volcanic alert level was lowered to 2 in January this year, as eruptive activity at Suwanosejima had slowed down.
"Information Liaison Office" established in the Government Crisis Management Center
Regarding the volcanic activity of Suwanosejima in Toshima Village, Kagoshima Prefecture, the government set up an "information communication room" at 6:40 am on the 5th at the crisis management center of the Prime Minister's official residence to collect information and take precautions.
What is Suwanosejima?
Suwanose Island in Toshima Village, Kagoshima Prefecture, is a volcanic island with a circumference of 27 km, located in the southwest of Tanegashima and Yakushima, and located almost in the center of the Tokara Islands.
According to Toshima Village, as of the end of January this year, 79 people from 38 households live on the island.
Nearly in the center of the island is Mt. Ontake, with an altitude of 799 meters, which has repeatedly erupted over a long period of time.
Residents live around Motoura Port, about 4 kilometers south of Mitake.
The village office is located in Kagoshima City, over 200 kilometers from the island, and a ferry operated by the village operates twice a week.
Recent eruptive activity
Recently, there have been a series of explosive eruptions scattering volcanic blocks, and on October 26, a large volcanic block was confirmed to have flown 1.9 kilometers from the center of the crater.
On September 26 of the same year, it was confirmed that the height of the volcanic plume rose to 5,400 meters from the crater, the highest since the Japan Meteorological Agency started observations in 2003.
The number of explosive eruptions in 2015 reached a record high of 2015, and the eruption alert level was often raised from ``2'' to ``3'', which indicates ``restriction on entering the mountain''.
Last year, the number of explosive eruptions increased in September, and the eruption alert level was raised to ``3'', but in January, the number of explosive eruptions decreased and the eruption activity became low. It was lowered to "2" indicating "regulation around the crater".
Past eruptive activity
According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, the large-scale eruption that occurred in 1813 during the Edo period not only caused pyroclastic flows and lava to reach the coast, but also caused the collapse of the volcanic edifice. It became an uninhabited island until 2012.
The 1884 eruption also caused a lava flow to reach the sea, and eruptive activity continued until the following year. Since 1956, it has repeated eruptions every year.