Japan's Mount Usu volcano erupts

The Mount Usu volcano erupts in Date on the northern Japanese island of HokkaidoTokyo as a member of the Japan Self Defense Force on guard in Touya village across the Touya Lake speaks on a mobile phone.

March 31, 2000
Web posted at: 2:52 p.m. HKT (0652 GMT)

DATE, Japan (CNN) -- Hot rock, gas, ash and smoke were blanketing the snowy countryside of Japan's northern island of Hokkaido on Friday after the Mount Usu volcano erupted.

Reports of injuries or damage were not immediately available, and the magnitude of the eruption was not immediately known. Smoke was reaching more than 2,000 meters into the atmosphere, but there were no reports of lava flowing from the volcano.

The eruption -- triggered when magma rose to the surface -- occurred shortly after 1 p.m. (0400 GMT), just hours after roads began cracking from growing fissures on the mountain's flanks.

"It is possible that widespread damage could result from this eruption," chief Cabinet spokesman Mikio Aoki said, from the government's emergency headquarters in Tokyo. Prime Minister Keizo Obucci was at the headquarters monitoring the situation on Friday.

AUDIO CNN Tokyo Bureau Chief Marina Kamimura reports on Mount Usu's eruption 858K/1 min. 15 sec. AIFF or WAV sound    VIDEO CNN's Marina Kamimura examines the volcano in the days before the eruption. QuickTime Play Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K     MESSAGE BOARD Japan

Experts monitoring the volcano's seismic activity had predicted the eruption, and had evacuated more than 11,000 residents from homes at its base. Approximately 51,000 people live in Date and two other towns near the 2,416-foot mountain, 475 miles north of Tokyo.

Volcanic ash began to rain down on several towns near the volcano shortly after the eruption. The area was enveloped by the pungent smell of sulphur.

After the eruption, Date city official Kazuki Owada said the city had widened its evacuation order to include another 548 people. All 13,000 residents in Abuta village were told to evacuate.

"We are asking people to keep indoors," said Tsutomu Kikuchi, a town official in nearby Toya village.

A military helicopter detected Thursday that cracks on the volcano's slopes had widened to 100 meters (330 feet). Mount Usu is 732 meters (2,402 feet) high.

Smoke rises from the crater of Mount Usu, on the northen Japanese island of Hokkaido

Japan is one of the world's most eruption-prone countries, with 86 active volcanoes, according to Japan's meteorological agency. The agency describes an active volcano as one that has erupted at least once over the last 2,000 years.

Mount Usu last erupted in 1978, killing two people and leveling nearly 200 homes. The trembling mountain gave enough advance warning then as well, allowing authorities to move residents out and keep casualties to a minimum.

In 1991, several eruptions of the 1,359-meter (4,459-foot) Mount Unzen sent avalanches of hot rocks sweeping through the outskirts of Shimabara, a town in southern Japan, killing 43 people and leaving nearly 2,300 homeless.

The Tokyo Bureau Chief Marina Kamimura and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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