Mount Shinmoedake, popularly known as Japan’s “James Bond volcano” for its use in the 1967 film You Only Live Twice, has been churning out ash for days. According to BBC News, however, these otherwise cumbersome eruptions turned explosive and dangerous on Saturday when magma and flying rock began spewing forth from the crater. As a result, the authorities have issued a general warning to all residents of Kyushu Island within a two and a half-mile radius of the volcano. Experts suggest the current volcanic activity could go on for several months.
National and international meteorologists and weather organizations have been monitoring Shinmoedake’s ashen outtake since it began on March 6th.
Mount #Shinmoedake seen erupting from space by #Japan's Himawari-8 satellite. The #volcano sent a plume of ash 7,500 feet into the sky – its biggest eruption since 2011. More imagery: https://t.co/mbgRYot60A pic.twitter.com/9WFdILR2ZI
— NOAA Satellites (@NOAASatellites) March 6, 2018
Crater of #Shinmoedake #volcano this morning, an angry cauldron of explosions and vigorous gas venting #Japan pic.twitter.com/kcXQjU4I1k
— James Reynolds (@EarthUncutTV) March 6, 2018
Per the BBC, the Japanese Meteorological Agency then announced that much larger explosions had occurred late Friday, and were continuing to occur throughout the day on Saturday. As a result, the JMA “issued new warnings, saying flying rocks could now be expected to reach a 4km radius around the volcano.” Previously, Shinmoedake erupted several times over a three-month period in 2011, causing several earthquakes and displacing hundreds of people from their homes in the vicinity.
The volcano was made famous in the 1967 film You Only Live Twice when the filmmakers behind British secret agent James Bond’s latest escapade used exterior shots of it for the villain’s secret lair.
(Via BBC News)