Janpanese Volcano comes alive

Subject:

Comments:
: Seismic Activity Increases in Japan : By ITSUO INOUYE, Associated Press Writer : DATE, Japan (AP) -- About 11,000 people evacuated from their homes kept a nervous vigil today after a volcano in northern Japan rumbled back to life, setting off a series of earthquakes and threatening to erupt at any time. : Experts warned that an eruption of Mount Usu on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido was imminent. Observers aboard a military helicopter found that 100-yard cracks had opened up on the volcano's western slope and near its base. : For the third day, quakes rocked this normally serene hot springs resort area at the base of the volcano. And with the frequency and intensity of the tremors increasing, nerves were fraying. : ''I wish it would just erupt and get it over with,'' said Toshiko Oishi, a 69-year-old housewife who was evacuated to a local elementary school. ''But I'm worried about my house because it's near the mountain.'' : Oishi was one of some 11,000 people who had been evacuated from the most dangerous areas today. Most were staying in shelters, while others were with relatives or friends. : Local officials said that the waiting period has been longer than the last time the volcano erupted, in 1978, and that was adding to the evacuees' stress. : ''There is an increasing sense of anxiety among the residents,'' said Yoshio Nagasaki, the mayor of Abuta town at the base of the volcano. : Nagasaki said sanitation and providing basic necessities for evacuees was becoming a problem. : ''They aren't able to take baths,'' he said. ''We have to advise them not to return to their homes to pick up belongings.'' : The snow-frosted volcano appeared ominously quiet today, though white plumes of smoke could be seen rising from its crater before a mist settled over the peak later in the day. : As if to underscore the official warnings, the day began with a jolt -- an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 4.2. That was the strongest of thousands of shallow tremors registered over the past three days around the 2,416-foot mountain, 475 miles north of Tokyo. The volcano was registering dozens of small tremors every hour. : Takao Kimihira of the local Meteorological Observatory in Muroran, near Usu, said seismic activity was intensifying because of the movement of magma underground. : Experts said that means the volcano could erupt at any time. : Worried that an eruption would melt the snow on the volcano's flanks and cause mudslides, authorities ordered the evacuation of 4,137 homes in this town at the volcano's base and two others -- Sobetsu and Abuta. Together, the towns have a population of 51,300. : The area is known for a scenic lake and hot spring resorts, but hotel owners began turning tourists away Wednesday following the eruption warnings. Residential areas near the volcano were deserted but for police cars and abandoned dogs scampering about the streets. : In Tokyo, an emergency task force was set up at Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi's residence. The prime minister canceled a visit to western Japan after he was informed that residents were being evacuated. : Japan is one of the world's most eruption-prone countries, with 86 active volcanoes, according to the nation's meteorological agency. The agency describes an active volcano as one that has erupted at least once over the last 2,000 years. Mount Usu's last eruption, in 1978, left two people dead and destroyed nearly 200 homes. : In 1991, several eruptions of the 4,459-foot Mount Unzen sent avalanches of hot rocks sweeping through the outskirts of the town of Shimabara in southern Japan, killing 43 people and leaving nearly 2,300 homeless. : Experts believe an eruption of Usu would probably be similar to that of Unzen, meaning that instead of lava flows, the volcano would eject a large amount of rocks, pumice, ash and gas. Such eruptions are particularly dangerous because the mixture -- called a pyroclastic flow -- moves much faster than lava and can easily outpace emergency vehicles. : --------

Optional Link URL:
Link Title:
Optional Image URL: