Mount Aso (Photo : YouTube)
Mount Aso on the Japanese island of Kyushu erupted on Monday. It sent a plume of thick black smoke and ashes more than one mile into the air and disrupted flights.
Following the eruption, the Japan Meteorological Agency issued a level 3 alert to warn people to stay away from the vicinity of the active volcano. The warning includes a possible second eruption and volcanic rocks landing over a one-kilometer radius and flying rocks and ash over a two-kilometer radius, NBC reports.
Yasuaki Sudo, a researcher at the Aso Volcano Museum, was quoted as saying, "This could happen a few times ... The most important thing is to stay out of the danger zone."
Fox reports that since there are no homes within the area, so far, there has been no reports of injuries or damage.
Flights arriving and departing from the Kumamoto Airport were cancelled and more cancellations are expected.
NHK reports that around 100 tourists were near Aso when it erupted because the volcano is a popular hiking destination. However, the visitors were quickly evacuated to safe grounds. Also evacuated were 20 passengers inside a ropeway transit station covered in volcanic ash. The station is over half a mile away from Aso.
Aso's last eruption was in April when it belched smoke 5,000 feet into the air, although there were no injured then. However, in September 2014, Mount Ontake in central Japan erupted and killed 57 people. Japan has more than 100 volcanoes.
