Volcanic warning level hiked in Japan, residents on southern island prepare to evacuate

Japan hiked the volcanic warning on one southern island to the second-highest level on Wednesday. Authorities are also preparing for the evacuation of residents from Kuchinoerabujima Island, though an actual eruption at the peak has yet to be detected, Reuters reports. Volcanic earthquakes and sulfur emissions had increased at a peak on the island, which is located roughly 1,000km southwest of Tokyo. The warning level was raised to 4 out of 5, Japan’s Meteorological Agency said. There was an explosive eruption of the mountain three years ago, sending ash and smoke thousands of meters into the sky. It released potentially deadly pyroclastic flows, flows of super-heated ash and gas, that reached the sea. Currently, some 100 people live on the island.