Sakurajima

[Coligny]

burppp... kaboommm... 4-2-15

earlier burp kaboom... 1-2-15

[Samurai_Jerk]

Sakurajima in Japan Might Be Headed Towards a Large Eruption

OFFICIALS IN JAPAN are preparing for what could be a large explosive eruption from Sakurajima. The Japan Meteorological Agency has raised the alert status to Level 4 after new earthquakes and rapid inflation of the volcano suggest that Sakurajima could be preparing for a repeat of the 1914 explosive eruption that produced numerous fatalities. Level 4 alert means that people living near the volcano need to prepare for evacuation if conditions continue to worsen. Right now that is limited to ~4,000 people on the same island as Sakurajima, but ash from any eruption (depending on the winds) could impact Kagoshima (population ~600,000), located only 10 kilometers from Sakurajima. There is also concern that a large eruption could cause workers at the restarted Sendai nuclear power plant, 50 kilometers from Sakurajima, to need to leave the plant.

[wagyl]

Nitpick: Sakurajima is no longer an island. It grew itself enough to become a peninsula of Kyushu in the 1914 eruption.