Japanese Volcano Subsides; Another Erupts, Injuring 5
Mt. Mihara subsided Sunday after a fiery eruption that forced 11,000 people to flee a small island, but hundreds of miles away another volcano erupted and sent a large boulder flying into a hotel, injuring five people.
Officials said Mt. Sakurajima hurled a boulder 6 1/2 feet in diameter into a one-story concrete hotel on Sakurajima island, about 620 miles southwest of Tokyo.
Officials said the eruption was not linked with that of Mt. Mihara, about 540 miles away on Oshima, an island 70 miles south of Tokyo.
The Central Meteorological Agency said Mt. Sakurajima has erupted often since 1955, including 474 eruptions last year. Police said 15 people were in the hotel at the time, and two were seriously hurt and another three not so seriously.
A Central Meteorological Agency official said about 30 gas explosions were recorded Sunday in the craters of Mt. Mihara, compared with countless explosions Saturday. The volcano erupted twice last week. The second eruption, on Friday, sent lava streaming toward Oshima’s main town and forced the evacuation of 11,000 people.
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