Mount Aso Explodes
Posted by feww on May 18, 2011
Japan’s Largest Active Volcano Erupts
Mount Aso exploded on Tuesday May 17 at 19:09UTC, prompting Japan’s Meteorological Agency (JMA) to raise the volcanic alert level for the volcano to 2.
Officials in Kumamoto Prefecture, home to the volcano, have imposed a 1 km exclusion zone around the 1,060m high Mt Naka, also warning of ejecta hazards, Kyodo news agency reported.
The central cone group of Aso hosts five peaks: Eboshi, Kishima, Naka, Neko, and Taka.
The explosive eruption followed minor activity at the volcano on Friday and a small eruption on Sunday.
Another small eruption on Monday resulted in a column of smoke and ash ejected 500m above the summit at about 10:am local time.
Mount Aso’s Naka dake volcano in Aso Kujū National Park, Kumamoto Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan, 17 Aug 2009. Credit: Igorberger
Current Volcanic Warnings (Japan, Island of Kyushu)
Asosan’s Mt Naka is at warning level 2: Do not approach the crater. Mt Kirishima and Mt Sakurajima are currently at warning level 3: Do not approach the volcano Source: JMA (copyrighted, for educational use only.)
Fire Earth 
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