An eruption at Kuchinoerabujima began at 1505 on 11 January and produced ash plumes that rose 2 km above the crater rim, drifted E, and then faded into a weather cloud. Tephra was ejected 300 m from the crater, and ashfall was reported on neighboring Yakushima Island. The eruption continued until 0730 on 12 January, producing ash plumes that rose 400 m above the crater rim and drifted SW; afterwards only white plumes were visible rising 600 m. The Alert Level remained at 3 (the middle level on a scale of 1-5).

Geological Summary. A group of young stratovolcanoes forms the eastern end of the irregularly shaped island of Kuchinoerabujima in the northern Ryukyu Islands, 15 km W of Yakushima. The Furudake, Shindake, and Noikeyama cones were erupted from south to north, respectively, forming a composite cone with multiple craters. All historical eruptions have occurred from Shindake, although a lava flow from the S flank of Furudake that reached the coast has a very fresh morphology. Frequent explosive eruptions have taken place from Shindake since 1840; the largest of these was in December 1933. Several villages on the 4 x 12 km island are located within a few kilometers of the active crater and have suffered damage from eruptions.

Source: Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA)