Volcano erupts in Japan, adds to country’s woes
A volcano erupted on Sunday in southwestern Japan after nearly two weeks of relative silence. The volcano is spewing ash and rocks up to four kilometres into the air as the country continues struggling with the aftermath of a catastrophic earthquake and tsunami in the north.
The mountain is on Kyushu Island, 1500 km from the epicenter of Friday's magnitude 8.9 earthquake and tsunami, which devastated much of the country's northeastern coast.
It is still unclear whether the eruption is the result of the devastating quake.
The number of those killed or missing after Friday March 11 massive earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan has topped 5,000, Kyodo news reported on Monday citing police.
Officials warn the death toll in the Miyagi prefecture alone could rise beyond 10,000 people.
Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from the area around Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant, where a blast hit reactor No. 3 on Monday morning following an explosion on Saturday.
At least 11 people were reported killed in the explosion. Officials say the reactor resisted the blast and played down any health risk.
An explosion occurred in reactor No. 1 on Saturday.
Japan's Prime Minister said that the recent earthquake in Japan was the largest calamity after the World War II.
