Japanese volcano spews plumes of ash, people warned away

Tokyo: A volcano erupted in Japan on Wednesday, blasting ash several miles into the sky and prompting officials to warn against the threat of lava flows and falling rocks, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

Smoke and ash are seen during an eruption on Mount Aso, a volcano in Kumamoto, Kyushu, Japan October 20, 2021, in this still image obtained from video. Courtesy of Twitter @ NINJA250_NBYK / Social Media via REUTERS , a tourist destination on the main southern island of Kyushu, sent plumes of ash 3.5 km (2.2 miles) high when it erupted at about 11:43 a.m. (0243 GMT), the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

It raised the alert level for the volcano to 3 on a scale of 5, telling people not to approach, and warned of a risk of large falling rocks and pyroclastic flows within a radius of about 1 km (0.6 mile) around the mountain's Nakadake crater.