Nature is bloody amazing when you get to see it in action. One lucky person was present at a Japanese volcano just in time to capture an amazing eruption.
Mount Sakurajima spewed ash three thousand metres (10,000 feet) into the air yesterday morning, covering much of the surrounding area in debris. Thankfully, there have been no reports of injury or property destruction as a result.
Check out the incredible footage here:
Credit: James Reynolds/Storyful
The Japanese Meteorological Agency has had the volcano under level three orange alert since this time last year.
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It last blew its top off only a few days ago and covered homes as far as four kilometres away.
It's a photographer's dream if it erupts at the right moment:
Credit: PA
Credit: PA
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It was formed 22,000 years ago during a massive underground eruption which spread several hundred cubic kilometres of ash and pumice into the air.
A 1914 eruption became the largest in the 20th century for Japan. Luckily, nearly all the residents had evacuated from the island days before the explosion - but 35 people died two days later from an earthquake.
The eruption caused so much magma to ooze out, that it eventually connected the island to Japan's mainland.
Experts predict that the volcano should experience a similar eruption to the 1914 one in the 2040s. Because the volcano has thousands of small eruptions every year, government authorities have installed shelters for people to escape the debris.
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Experts usually refer to Mount Sakurajima as 'the Vesuvius of the East' because of the level of its activity.
Featured Image Credit: James Reynolds/StoryfulTopics: Volcano
