Sakurajima volcano, located on the Japanese island of Kyushu, erupted in the wee hours of 31 July, spewing rocks and ash around. While there aren’t any casualties reported so far, the eruption has prompted evacuations in the region.
In the aftermath, concerned authorities issued a Level 5 Alert, advising people to evacuate their homes. Residents in Kagoshima Prefecture and Kagoshima City were advised to exercise caution.
Sakurajima Volcano
Sakurajima is an active stratovolcano, formerly an island and now a peninsula, in Kagoshima Prefecture in Kyushu, Japan. The lava flows of the 1914 eruption connected it with the Ōsumi Peninsula. It is the most active volcano in Japan.
As of April 2021, the volcanic activity still continues, dropping volcanic ash on the surroundings. Earlier eruptions built the white sand highlands in the region. On September 13, 2016, a team of experts from Bristol University and the Sakurajima Volcano Research Centre in Japan suggested that the volcano could have a major eruption within 30 years; since then two eruptions have occurred.
Sakurajima is a stratovolcano. Its summit has three peaks, Kita-dake (northern peak), Naka-dake (central peak) and Minami-dake (southern peak) which is active now.