No way to predict volcanic eruptions in advance… Be on the lookout for eruptions at all of Japan’s volcanoes!

The fury of a volcano engulfs everything. On September 19, a volcano erupted for the first time in 50 years on the island of La Palma in the Spanish Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean. On October 17, the prime minister of the autonomous province of the Canary Islands pathetically commented that there was no sign of an early end to the eruption. At the end of September, Kilauea volcano also erupted on the island of Hawaii.

With 111 active volcanoes in Japan (the fourth largest in the world), Japan is no stranger to volcanic eruptions.

October October October 20 On October 20, a moderate eruption occurred at Mt. On October 20, a moderate eruption occurred at Mt. The eruption alert level was raised to level 3 for the first time in five years. The eruption alert level was raised to Level 3 for the first time in five years. Dr. Hideki Shimamura, Professor of Geophysics at Musashino Gakuin University, sounded an alarm.

“The eruption caused a pyroclastic flow of 1.6 km from Mt. The eruption sent a pyroclastic flow 1.6 km If the eruption had been on a larger scale, it could have hit tourists and villages at the foot of the mountain. In that sense, we were very lucky that there were no casualties. On the other hand, the Japan Meteorological Agency has been lagging behind in its response. This time, too, they raised the alert level from 2 to 3 after the eruption. But they could not warn us in advance. However, it is meaningless if we cannot warn people in advance. In the end, I don’t know how much magma moves. In the end, we have no way of knowing how active the magma is. In the end, the JMA and even volcanologists do not know how active the magma is. Mt. Aso may erupt again soon.

Of course, Mount Aso is not the only volcano that we should be wary of. Of course, Mt.

“All of Japan’s active volcanoes are at risk. In the Tokyo metropolitan area, Mount Asama (Gunma/Nagano) has erupted more than 50 times since observations began, so it is not surprising that it could happen at any time. It is possible that volcanic ash could rain down on the entire Tokyo metropolitan area. Professor

Manabu Takahashi, a specially appointed professor of disaster risk management at Ritsumeikan University, points out the danger of volcanoes in Kyushu and Okinawa.

“In early to mid-September, the entire Japanese archipelago moved in a different direction, from northeast to southwest, due to a major change in crustal movement caused by the very active movement of the Pacific Plate. As a result, the Kyushu and Okinawa regions are expected to come under pressure and volcanic activity is expected to increase. Specifically, Suwanose-jima, Jujima, Satsuma-Iwo Jima, Kuchinoerabu Jima, and Sakurajima are in danger. Particularly worrisome for Sakurajima is a disaster on the same level as the eruption in the Taisho era, when it was connected to the main island by land.”

Also in Japan, a large-scale eruption occurred on August 13 at Fukutoku Okanoba, an underwater volcano near Iwo Jima on the west side of the Izu-Ogasawara Trench. The next day, Nishinoshima Island in the Ogasawara Islands erupted for the first time in about a year.

“The Pacific Plate is actively moving, putting pressure on the underground magma pools along the Izu-Ogasawara Trench. This is expected to affect volcanic activity in the Ogasawara Islands as well as Izu, Hakone, and Mt.

For Japanese people, Mt. Fuji is also a concern for the Japanese people,” said Shimamura.

“Fuji could erupt at any time. Fuji erupted frequently during the Heian period (794-1185), and there have been no eruptions since 1707, but the problem is that the last eruption was 300 years ago, so there is no scientific observation data. The problem is that the last eruption was 300 years ago, so we don’t have any scientific data.

The problem is that the last eruption was 300 years ago, so we have no scientific observation data,” says Ryusuke Imura, associate professor of volcanic geology at Kagoshima University.

Ryusuke Imura, associate professor of volcanic geology at Kagoshima University, said, “Japan is a country that was formed when people settled on a volcanic island. Regardless of the scale, I wouldn’t be surprised if some volcano erupts at this very moment. As long as we are in Japan, we should assume that there is a risk that we will encounter an eruption somewhere and suffer damage.

The X-Day is definitely coming.

From “FRIDAY” November 5, 2021 issue