"The mountain has been erupting for a while, but this is the strongest day yet," official says
TOKYO — A volcano in southern Japan that appeared in a James Bond film had its biggest eruption in years Tuesday, shooting smoke and ash thousands of feet into the sky and grounding dozens of flights at a nearby airport, officials said. The Meteorological Agency said the Shinmoedake volcano on Japan’s southernmost main island of Kyushu erupted violently several times, and some lava was rising inside a crater.
« The mountain has been erupting for a while, but this is the strongest day yet, » an official at the Japanese Meteorological Agency told Reuters. « This will go on for a while. »
Public broadcaster NHK showed gray volcanic smoke billowing into the sky and orange lava rising to the mouth of the crater. The Meteorological Agency said ash and smoke shot up about 7,500 feet into the sky in the volcano’s biggest explosion since 2011.
In Kirishima city at the foot of the volcano, pedestrians wore surgical masks or covered their noses with hand towels, while others used umbrellas to protect from falling ash.
