The largest still active volcano in Japan erupted early saturday morning sending smoke and ash more than 1,100 meters (About 7 miles!!!) into the air. The 1,592 meter-tall Mount Aso is located in the Kumamoto Prefecture on the southwestern part of the island of Kyushu. The Japan Meteorological Agency said that no injuries have been reported yet but it raised the alert levee in the area from a 3 to a 5. The public was warned to beware of falling rocks and to try to stay away from the area of the volcano all together. The directer of the agencies Volcanology Division said that is is "extremely rare for an eruption column to exceed 10,000 meters" he also added that in the volcanos current state it is possible for another eruption of the same scale to occur so we must keep an eye on it in the future.
Because of Japans location on the "Ring of Fire" i believe they must keep an extra close eye on the several volcanos that are located there in order to keep the people there safe and away from possible harm. Level 3 alerts have been issued for a few other volcanos in japan so they will also be keeping a watch on those. I hope the damage from this eruption will soon be cleaned up and that they will be very prepared for future eruptions.
I think that it is very lucky that no one got hurt but I also think this eruption is a good warning for people to be aware of their surroundings.
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