Senin 19 Aug 2013 12:00 WIB

Volcanic eruption coats Japanese city with ash

Red: Yeyen Rostiyani
City officials wearing masks clean the pavement covered by ash Monday morning, Aug. 19, 2013 after the Sakurajima volcano erupted Sunday afternoon in Kagoshima, on the southern Japanese main island of Kyushu.
Foto: AP/Kyodo News
City officials wearing masks clean the pavement covered by ash Monday morning, Aug. 19, 2013 after the Sakurajima volcano erupted Sunday afternoon in Kagoshima, on the southern Japanese main island of Kyushu.

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, TOKYO - Residents in a southern Japanese city accustomed to frequent eruptions from a nearby volcano were busy washing ash off the streets Monday after the mountain spewed a record-high smoke plume into the sky.

Ash wafted as high as 5 kilometers (3 miles) above the Sakurajima volcano in the southern city of Kagoshima on Sunday afternoon, forming the highest plume since the Japan Meteorological Agency started keeping records in 2006. Lava flowed about 1 kilometer (.6 miles) from the fissure, with several huge volcanic rocks rolling down the mountainside.

Residents wore masks and raincoats and used umbrellas to shield themselves from the falling ash. Drivers turned on their headlights in the dull evening gloom, and railway service in the city was halted temporarily so ash could be removed from the tracks.

Officials said no injuries or damage have been reported. By Monday morning, the air was clearer as masked residents sprinkled water and swept up the ash. The city was mobilizing garbage trucks and water sprinklers to clean up.