Friday, January 28, 2011

新燃岳燃ゆる Shinmoedake Volcanic Eruption


                                                          

宮崎県と鹿児島県の境にある新燃岳が噴火しています。地学が大好きな私はこの生きている惑星を感じさせる火山活動にとっても興味をもっています。
今朝Lucがbathroomの窓ががたがた揺れているので地震があったのか聞いたのです。全く別の世界に心があった私は???でしたが、ニュースによると噴火の時の空震は長崎まで届いたとあったので、きっとそれだったのでしょう。そういえばイタリアのMt. Etnaも燃えてます。

From Universe.com

Disclose. Tvよりの抜粋です。

Smoke billows from Shinmoedake, a mountain in the Kirishima volcanic range between Kagoshima and Miyazaki prefectures, in this photograph taken from a Mainichi helicopter on Jan. 27. (Mainichi)Residents temporarily evacuated their homes and transportation services were disrupted as smoke continued to billow from the erupting volcano Shinmoedake in the Kirishima range between Kagoshima and Miyazaki prefectures on Jan. 27.

Plumes of smoke rose 2,000 meters following an eruption on Jan. 26, figures from the Kagoshima Local Meteorological Observatory showed. By 9 a.m. the following morning the smoke had fallen to an altitude of 400 meters, but officials said a series of small eruptions were continuing, and called for caution.

"The volcanic activity has just started, so we can expect more periods of rest and activity. There's also a chance of a major eruption," an observatory representative said.

The eruptions prompted some residents in Miyazaki Prefecture to temporarily evacuate their homes, while three junior and elementary schools in Miyakonojo, Miyazaki Prefecture, delayed the start of classes by one to two hours.

In the Ojibaru district of Takaharu, a town in Miyazaki Prefecture located about 7 kilometers from the crater, 14 people voluntarily took shelter at a local health and welfare center in the predawn hours of Jan. 27. They returned to their homes later in the day.

The eruptions forced the cancellation of services on the JR Nippo Main Line between Tano and Kokubu stations, on the Nichinan Line between Aoshima and Shibushi stations, and on the whole Kitto Line. A section of the Miyazaki Expressway also remained closed off due to poor visibility.