Mount Aso, Japan's biggest volcano Erupts,

Japanese volcano spews plumes of ash, people warned away.
Mount Aso in Japan's Kyushu region has erupted.

Smoke billowed out of the peak in Kumamoto Prefecture, starting at 11:43 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct 20 / 2021. The Meteorological Agency has issued a warning for people who are in the mountain area.

The agency of NHK WORLD - JAPAN confirmed pyroclastic flows reached more than one kilometer from the crater. It issued a warning and raised its volcanic alert level to 3 on its 5 point scale.

The agency is calling on people near the crater to be on the alert for large cinders. Pyroclastic flows could occur in areas within about 2 kilometers. People nearby should do whatever they can to ensure their safety.

The government is checking to determine the status of a number of climbers on the mountain at the time, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters, but added that there were no reports of casualties.

Television networks broadcast images of a dark cloud of ash looming over the volcano that swiftly obscured large swathes of the mountain.

Ash falls from the 1,592-metre (5,222-foot) mountain in the prefecture of Kumamoto are expected to shower nearby towns until late afternoon, the weather agency added.

Mount Aso had a small eruption in 2019, while Japan's worst volcanic disaster in nearly 90 years killed 63 people on Mount Ontake in September 2014.