Big volcanic rock thrown by Sakurajima
By Denise
@petatonicsca (7070)
Japan
June 11, 2020 3:10am CST
My favorite volcano, Sakurajima in Kyushu, got a little rambunctious on June 4 in the early morning. During a large and dramatic eruption, she threw off a large glowing volcanic bomb over 3 km from the crater. It landed in the woods near a farmer's shed and blasted a hole in the ground. A smaller volcanic stone (called lapilli-- any volcanic emission bigger than 2 cm and smaller than 64 cm) came through the shed's roof, but nothing was damaged or burned. My friend who lives in that neighborhood had told me right after it happened at about 2:00 in the morning that it was the scariest time she had ever had at the volcano after living there for 10 years.
You can watch the video on this page. It's in Japanese, but you can see the dramatic eruption and the hole made by the volcanic bomb (which is anything bigger than 64 cm-- this one was most likely about 1 meter by 30 cm judging by the hole it made.) The man standing in the hole says "I'm 180 cm tall." You can see how big the hole is.
Anyway, it was pretty dramatic and scary. The last time a volcanic bomb came that far away from the crater was in 1986 when one came through the roof of an inn, injured some people in the lobby and destroyed the roof and lobby. (The inn closed down and there is not one in that place any more.)
The power of nature is awesome and I'm glad nobody was hurt this time around! I still love Sakurajima and I hope she keeps her temper and stops throwing rocks at the people living on her!
2 people like this
2 responses
@Alexandoy (65302)
• Cainta, Philippines
11 Jun 20
This is the first time that I have read about a volcano that is spewing rocks.
@petatonicsca (7070)
• Japan
11 Jun 20
They often do in large explosive eruptions; the rocks are either blasted off the side of the conduit during eruption, or are large globs of lava that partially harden as they fly through the air.
1 person likes this
@Alexandoy (65302)
• Cainta, Philippines
11 Jun 20
@petatonicsca gee, that is very scary for those who are near the danger zone.
@JudyEv (381875)
• Rockingham, Australia
11 Jun 20
Wow! Something must have really upset her! No wonder the ancient peoples tried to appease their gods.



