3 February

A volcano on an island in the southern Japanese prefecture of Kagoshima erupted on early Monday morning, sending a pyroclastic flow down its slope.

The Meteorological Agency says Mount Shindake on Kuchinoerabu Island erupted at around 5:31 a.m., spewing smoke up to 7,000 meters into the sky.

They say a stream of hot ash, rocks and gases flowed downward about 900 meters southwest of the crater, and large rocks flew for nearly 600 meters.

The officials say neither the pyroclastic flow nor the rocks reached residential areas.

The agency is maintaining the island's volcano warning level at 3 on a scale of 5.

The officials are calling on people to be on the alert for flying rocks and pyroclastic flows within 2 kilometers from the crater.

They are also calling for caution over pyroclastic flows in areas stretching from the Mukaehama district in the west to the southwest of the volcano.

The volcano had a major eruption in 2015, forcing all residents to temporarily evacuate from the island. Intermittent eruptions have been observed since last month.

NHK