ERUPTION WARNING issued for Mount Io after 30 volcanic trembles recorded
RESIDENTS of an island in Japan have been put on high alert after a eruption warning was issued for Mount Io.
Mt Io is due an eruption
The 1,317m high volcano is long overdue an eruption having not blown since October, 1936.
However, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) has said more than 30 volcanic trembles were recorded before 7PM on Sunday, 28 February.
It is the highest amount of trembles that has been recorded at the site since seismometers were installed in 2013.
As a result, the JMA has issued a warning and said that none of Kyushu island’s 13 million plus residents are allowed within a kilometre of the volcano.
Sakurajima erupted in February
In early February, inhabitants of Kyushu – the most southern island in Japan – were sent into a frenzy when Sakurajima volcano began erupting.
The volcano, in south-west Japan, was seen with lava flowing down the mountain.
Last time it erupted in 2013, it coated the nearby city Kagoshima in ash.
Japan’s Sakurajima volcano erupts
Those plumes reached 5,000 meters high and lava flowed about a kilometre from the fissure.
The latest eruption occurred 50 km from a nuclear power-plant.
Local news network NHK showed footage of a plume of smoke emerging from the volcano which sent ash 2km into the air.
The eruption was categorised as a Level 3 emergency, but there were no reports of damage or injuries.