A volcano in southwestern Japan erupted Sunday after nearly two weeks of relative silence, sending ash and rocks up to four kilometres (two and a half miles) into the air, a local official says. It was not immediately clear if the eruption was a direct result of the massive 8.9-magnitude earthquake that rocked northern areas Friday, unleashing a fierce tsunami and sparking fears that more than 10,000 may have been killed.
However, the volcano erupted again – sending ash and rock 4 kilometres into the air, creating a giant ash cloud against the blue sky of the south-west. The Shinmoedake volcano is 4,689-feet tall, and towers over many communities.
This blast today was the biggest from that volcano in 52 years. People had to leave the area, so again, there are displaced person in another area in Japan. The volcano blast was loud enough to be heard for miles and the impact broke windows up to 4 miles away. Continue to pray for those in Japan. Hundreds of people have fled the area, as it is feared more volcanic activity could be coming. Hopefully as relief efforts are underway from the Japan Tsunami / Earthquake this recent volcanic eruption does not slow down the process of finding all of those lost people. My thoughts and prayers go out to those affected by the horrific tsunami and earthquake.