Japan's Mount Aso, considered as one of the largest volcanoes in the world, has erupted on Thursday, Japan Times has learned.
Located in Kyusho Island, which is about 1,000 kilometers from Tokyo, the volcano spewed chunks of magma and other debris into the sky at around 11:30 in the morning. Its ash plumes reached a height of one kilometer or approximately 3,280 feet, the Associated Press reported.
Due to the scale of the eruption, Japanese agencies issued a travel advisory for both tourists and locals. People have been banned from entering the one kilometer area surrounding the crater of Mount Aso.
Mayor Yoshioko Sato of Aso explained during a press conference that the ban was issued to protect the public from volcanic debris.
"Depending on the wind conditions, the ash and rocks spewed from the volcano may affect tourists," he said.
Kumamoto, a city in the island, was covered in ash because of the eruption which prompted the Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways to cancel flights in the area, according to Channel News Asia.
"Today we cancelled eight flights departing from Kumamoto and four flights arriving there," a spokesperson from Japan Airlines announced.
"There was also one flight which changed destination to a nearby airport," the spokesperson added.
Other neighboring cities such as Oita and Miyazaki have also been affected by the ash from the eruption.
Mount Aso is the second volcano in Japan that erupted this year. In September, Mount Ontake in Nagano erupted without warning which cause the death of over 60 people who were hiking in the area. Authorities said many of those who died were hit by rocks spewed by the volcano, Newsweek reported.
This is the first time Mount Aso erupted in 21 years. From 1945 to 1993, the volcano was relatively active and erupted five times. Its eruption in 1979 left three people dead and 11 others injured. Similar to the Mount Ontake incident, most of the victims were hikers.
