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VIDEO: Japanese Volcano Blows Its Top

By Mark Memmott
Published February 1, 2011 at 5:00 AM MST
White smoke raises from Mount Shinmoedake in Kirishima mountain range in Kagoshima prefecture, Japan's southern island of Kyushu, on February 1, 2011.
Jiji Press
/
AFP/Getty Images
White smoke raises from Mount Shinmoedake in Kirishima mountain range in Kagoshima prefecture, Japan's southern island of Kyushu, on February 1, 2011.

Dormant for about 300 years, Japan's Shinmoedake is very awake now.

The Associated Press says that the "revived Japanese volcano threw boulders for miles and broke windows 5 miles away in its biggest explosion yet" earlier today. "The blast sent a huge plume of gas and ash into the sky and officials widened the danger zone to keep residents away." It was "the biggest since the Shinmoedake (sheen-moy-DAH'-keh) volcano burst to life last week."

Reuters has this video from the scene in southern Japan:

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Mark Memmott
Mark Memmott is NPR's supervising senior editor for Standards & Practices. In that role, he's a resource for NPR's journalists – helping them raise the right questions as they do their work and uphold the organization's standards.
See stories by Mark Memmott