Sakurajima volcano erupts in southwest Japan, creating 4,400 m-high plume

A volcano on Sakurajima in Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan, erupted early Sunday morning, sending a plume of ash and smoke up to 4,400 meters into the atmosphere, the weather agency said.The eruption continued after the initial event, prompting the agency to issue an ashfall forecast for parts of Kagoshima, Kumamoto and Miyazaki prefectures. No injuries or damage to buildings have been reported.An explosive eruption around 12:57 a.m. on Sunday at the Minamidake crater sent a plume rising above 4,000 meters for the first time since Oct. 18 last year, according to the local meteorolo…READ FULL ARTICLE