Measures for volcano eruption

If you are in the vicinity of a volcano, please confirm in advance any information such as eruption warnings and alert levels.

In the event of a volcano erupting without any warning, be sure to wear a helmet or hat, a mask, watch out for flying rocks, and quickly take shelter in a nearby-shelter or under a solid building.

If you happen to be climbing an active volcano, be sure to check the location of the crater and the location of an evacuation hut or resting place on the mountain. Please evacuate in the direction away from the crater.

Volcanic ash is very choking and can damage your lungs, so please avoid breathing it as much as possible wearing a mask or covering your mouth and nose with a towel before moving.

Volcanic ash will reduce visibility and reduce air quality. Please reach any windbreak in order to prevent inhalation of volcanic ash.


The phenomenon of a volcano eruption

The volcano spews out – at hundreds of degrees in temperature – a mixture of ash, pumice, rocks and volcanic gases – called a volcanic debris flow, which pours out at speeds of over a hundred km per hour, burning up all objects in its path. Please evacuate as quickly as possible to a safe place, to avoid being engulfed.

Liquid-like magma, called a lava flow, moves slowly from higher to lower ground and the earth, after the flow passes through, forms a lava earth, which is usually more damaging to solid objects than to people.

The pressure of the magma and the effects of the eruption cause the volcano itself to collapse, instantly burying a large area in sediment. If it flows into the ocean, it is likely to cause a tsunami. Such a situation can only be evacuated before the event.

Special attention should be paid to rainfall after an eruption, as volcanic mudslides are likely to occur. Also, after the immediate volcanic eruption ends, it will in fact continue to erupt for years or decades to come and as it is difficult to recover quickly, it is best to move as far away from the volcano as possible.

Following a volcanic eruption, volcanic ash and other harmful gases fill the air and with the wind, air quality becomes a serious health hazard, so cover your mouth and nose or wear a gas mask and evacuate as soon as possible.

With a snow-covered volcano erupting in winter, beware that as the snow and ice covering the volcanic ash melts, the ash and soil together form a mudslide and it is most important to alert the downstream areas and to stay away from valleys and rivers.

Volcanic eruptions are likely to cause large volcanic earthquakes, and if they occur at the bottom of the sea they may also cause tsunamis.


The mechanisms of a volcano eruption

Japan is located in an earthquake zone, and volcanic activity is frequent and active.

A volcanic eruption is a phenomenon that includes hot magma, debris from the volcanic body and underlying rocks, volcanic gases and other materials erupting from the crater, lava flows, accompanied explosions or loud noises and with falling ash.

In Japan, there are 111 active volcanoes located in all regions of the country.

Active volcanoes are those which have erupted within the past 10,000 years and those that are currently actively erupting.