Mount Aso alert in Kumamoto raised to Level 3 after tremors intensify
Stronger volcanic tremors and a rapid rise in gas emissions have prompted warnings of large volcanic rocks and pyroclastic flows within two kilometres of a crater on Nakadake.
- The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) raised the volcanic alert for Mount Aso in Kumamoto to Level 3.
- The decision was based on an increase in volcanic tremors and a rapid rise in gas emissions.
- As a result, access to the mountain has been barred, with warnings of large volcanic rocks and pyroclastic flows within a 2km radius of the crater.
Access to Mount Aso was barred after the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) raised the volcanic alert from Level 2 to Level 3 on Friday (August 14).
The agency attributed the move to stronger volcanic tremors and a rapid increase in gas emissions at the volcano in Kumamoto Prefecture, south-western Japan.
At a press conference in Tokyo, Atsushi Fuji, director of JMA’s Volcanic Observation Division, warned of large volcanic rocks and pyroclastic flows within about two kilometres of a crater on Nakadake, one of Mount Aso’s five peaks.
Pyroclastic flows are high-temperature mixtures of volcanic material, including molten rock, ash and gas.
Asked whether the latest volcanic activity was connected to the powerful earthquake that struck Kumamoto Prefecture on July 28, Fuji said: “We cannot clearly say with a scientific basis.”
JMA had previously raised the alert from Level 1 to Level 2 on June 21 after volcanic activity intensified, restricting access to areas around the craters.
Level 1 indicates the potential for volcanic activity to increase.
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
