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Hundreds of people were reportedly ordered to evacuate after Mount Shindake erupted in spectacular fashion on the small island of Kuchinoerabu in southern Japan Friday morning around 10 a.m. GMT.

WATCH: Divers capture spectacular eruption in Japan


Leeanna McLean
Digital Reporter

Friday, May 29, 2015, 9:31 AM -

Hundreds of people were reportedly ordered to evacuate after Mount Shindake erupted in spectacular fashion on the small island of Kuchinoerabu in southern Japan Friday morning around 10 a.m. GMT. 

The Japanese Meteorological Agency raised the volcano alert level to 5, which is the highest on the scale and advised the evacuation of the immediate area.

#口永良部島 #噴火 怖かったたよ〜(>_<)

A photo posted by naoko futagami (@nao.ryou.rui) on

Video above shows the volcano sending a massive plume of smoke and ash into the sky, taking a group of nearby scuba divers by complete surprise.

There are no reports of injuries or damage. In addition to the smoke and ash, the eruption caused a 4.0-magnitude earthquake, according to the United States Geological Survey.



About 120 of the island's 137 residents were gathered at a local evacuation facility, Nobuaki Hayashi, a local village chief told the national broadcaster NHK. A few people were unaccounted for, Hayashi said.

Kuchinoerabu is 80 km southwest of the main southern island of Kyushu.

"There was a really loud, 'dong' sound of an explosion, and then black smoke rose, darkening the sky," Hayashi said. "It smelled of sulfur."

A military helicopter was sent to assess the severity of damage and a ship was dispatched to help evacuate the residents. Kuchinoerabu can only be accessed once-a-day by ferry from Yakushima Island, about 12 km to the east. 

Japan experiences frequent volcanoes and earthquakes due to its location atop the Pacific Ring of Fire. The volcano last erupted in August 2014, ending a streak of dormancy dating back to 1980. The popular hot springs, about 80 km from Tokyo, was recently closed because authorities feared nearby Mount Hakone might erupt.

Experts say it is possible for eruptions to continue.

Since the 2011 disasters, "this sort of activity has continued," Setsuya Nakada, a professor at Tokyo University told NHK.

STRONG EARTHQUAKE STRIKES OFF JAPAN COAST

A deep, undersea earthquake struck around 8:30 p.m. local time on Saturday, off Japan's Ogasawara islands.

The US Geological Survey said the 7.8-magnitude earthquake was centred 874 km from Tokyo, at a depth of almost 700 km.

Buildings shook in the capital city for about a minute after the quake, triggering car alarms and causing brief power outages.

There have been no reports of damages or casualties. No tsunami warnings have been issued because the quake struck so far beneath the earth's surface.

Source: NHK | Associated Press | BBC

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