The Sakurajima volcano, which is located in the south of the island of Kyushu near the city of Kagoshima, erupted around one o’clock in the morning local time. According to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), there were two more eruptions around 2:30 and 8:50 in the morning.
Volcanic smoke rose to a height of 4,400 meters during the eruption. According to the Kyódó agency, this is the first eruption reaching a height of four kilometers or more in almost 13 months.
Sakurajima is on level 3 volcanic alert, which means that access to the mountains is restricted.
According to Reuters, 30 flights at Kagoshima Airport were canceled due to ash and related reasons.
Sakurajima is one of the most active volcanoes in Japan and eruptions of varying intensity occur regularly. In 2019, it spewed ash up to a height of 5.5 km.
