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Mount Oyama erupts for 4th time in a month |
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August 11, 2000
TOKYO (AP) - A volcano on an island off Tokyo erupted Thursday, belching black ash into the sky but causing no immediate injuries or damage, a local observatory said. The eruption of Mount Oyama on Miyakejima island, the fourth in a month, began at 6:59 a.m. (2159 GMT Wednesday), and shot up a column of dark smoke and ash as high as 2,000 meters (yards), said local observatory official Shinji Takase. The 815-meter (2,670-foot) volcano last erupted on July 15. Takase said smoke rising from the volcano at first was white, but later turned gray and black. The ash was blowing northeast away from the island, 190 kilometers (118 miles), south of Tokyo, he said. Island authorities ordered residents on the northern part of Miyakejima to evacuate to a public community center, said municipal official Izumi Asanuma. She said she didn't know how many residents were effected by the order. She some island roads were cordoned off because falling ash reduced visibility, creating dangerous driving conditions. But there were no immediate reports of ash causing injuries or damage to housing or automobiles. The first signs of recent volcanic activity on Miyakejima began June 26.
At that time there was no immediate eruption, but more than 2,000 people were ordered to evacuate. The order was lifted after a few days. Volcanologists said an undersea eruption occurred off Miyakejima on June 27. Mount Oyama then erupted July 8, July 14 and 15. No one was injured in those eruptions. The island has about 4,000 residents. Since late June, Miyakejima and nearby islands have been jolted by tens of thousands of earthquakes, including more than 11,900 strong enough to be felt by humans. On July 1, a man was killed by a landslide following a magnitude 6.4 earthquake on the nearby island of Kozushima. |
