Major volcano in Japan expected to erupt again

Tokyo, Oct 26 (IANS) The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) on Tuesday warned of another possible major volcanic eruption of Mt. Aso, following a series of earthquakes.

The JMA said the magnitude of the volcanic tremor in the No.1 Nakadake crater ose sharply from late Sunday to early Monday, while confirming changes obviously caused by expansion in the shallow part, reports Xinhua news agency.

Following the eruption of the 1,506-metre crater before noon on October 20, the JMA had raised the volcanic alert level to 3 on a scale of 5 and prohibited access to areas within 2 km of the crater.

The JMA said the volcanic ash spewed over 1 km from the crater, and a pyroclastic flow was observed within 1.3 km west of the crater for the first time since October 2016.

No deaths and injuries were reported last week.

At the time of the eruption, 16 climbers on the mountain made the descent without injury.