Evacuations ordered as Japan island volcano erupts

Smoke rises from Mount Oyama on the island of Miyakejima, Japan, on Friday

TOKYO (Reuters) -- A volcano on a Japanese island near Tokyo spewed a huge column of steam, smoke and ash on Friday, forcing residents to evacuate.

Television pictures showed Miyakejima island thrown into darkness by a massive pall of smoke and ash that spiraled as high as 8,000 meters (26,400 feet) into the air.

Officials said there was no outflow of lava from Mount Oyama on Friday, its biggest eruption in 17 years and the seventh in a series that began in late June.

The Meteorological Agency added to the uncertainty already facing residents of Miyakejima, 180 kilometers (113 miles) south of Tokyo, by warning of heavy rains and possible mudslides.

An official at the Miyakejima town office said local authorities had ordered 2,162 residents, more than half the total population, to evacuate to school gymnasiums and other shelters.

Residents were told to stay indoors because of the ash.

"The ash is very dangerous because it is hot. We also believe there are small rocks falling from the eruption," another official said.

MESSAGE BOARD Nature's wrath

There were no reports of injuries.

About 4,000 residents live on Miyakejima, part of the Izu island chain, which has been jolted by tens of thousands of earthquakes in addition to volcanic eruptions over the past two months. Mount Oyama last erupted on August 10.

The Izu islands were hit by two moderately strong quakes earlier on Friday, with a quake measuring 5.7 on the Richter scale triggering a small landslide on Niijima island late in the morning. Another quake measuring 4.9 also hit the island chain.

Mount Oyama's last major eruption in 1983 destroyed 400 houses and left a moonscape of rock, burning out nearby forests and destroying a lake. A lava flow from an eruption in 1940 killed 11 people and it erupted again in 1962.

Japan is one of the world's most earthquake-prone regions, sitting atop the juncture of three tectonic plates, or shifting pieces of the earth's crust.

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Japan Meteorological Agency
Volcano Research Center (University of Tokyo)
  •  Current eruptions in Japan
International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior (IAVCEI)
Smithsonian Institution - Global Volcanism Program

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