Explosive Eruption on Kuchinoerabu Island Residents ordered to evacuate the island

The mountain slopes and sea discolored by the explosive eruption of Shindake (626 meters) on Kuchinoerabu Island, Yakushima Town, Kagoshima Prefecture, at 2:59 p.m. on May 29, 2015 (from a Honsha helicopter). An explosive eruption occurred at 9:59 a.m. on May 29 on Shindake (626 meters) on Kuchinoerabu Island in Yakushima Town, Kagoshima Prefecture. According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, the volcanic fumes reached a height of more than 9,000 meters above the crater, and pyroclastic flows flowed out toward the west side of the crater, reaching the coast in the Mukaehama area, about 2 km from the crater. There is a possibility of a magma explosion. The agency raised the eruption alert level from "3 (mountain entry restrictions)" to "5 (evacuation)," and at 10:20 a.m. the town of Yakushima issued evacuation orders for all islanders.