Experts warn of further eruptions
NHK Japan, Sep. 28, 2014 – Updated 15:30 UTC+2
“Experts have warned that Mount Ontake could erupt again on a similar scale.
The members of the Coordinating Committee for the Prediction of Volcanic Eruption met geologists and experts in disaster preparation on Sunday.
The members said the eruption occurred in the southwestern part of the summit late on Saturday morning. They confirmed that large cinders had travelled as far as one kilometer from the peak.
They said a pyroclastic flow made up of gases and rock fragments was observed more than 3 kilometers southwest of the craters but no traces of burning trees have been discovered.
They say the volcanic ash does not contain fresh magmatic substances.
They concluded that Saturday’s eruption was a hydrovolcanic explosion. They say this occurred when underground water heated by rising magma suddenly turned into vapor beneath the mountain’s surface.
The members say the latest eruption is almost on the same scale as the one in 1979.
They say the volcanic earthquakes that began on September 10th were small, even compared to those before the minor eruption in 2007.
They say there are no signs of major eruptions yet. But they say volcanic activities are intensifying and warn that Mount Ontake could erupt on a similar scale again.”
Source:
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