TOKYO — A volcano in southwestern Japan erupted Sunday after nearly two weeks of relative silence, sending ash and rocks up to two and a half miles into the air, a local official said.
It was not immediately clear if the eruption was a direct result of the massive 8.9-magnitude earthquake that rocked northern areas Friday, unleashing a fierce tsunami and sparking fears that more than 10,000 might have been killed.
The 4,689-foot Shinmoedake volcano, in the Kirishima range, had its first major eruption for 52 years in January, but there had not been any major activity at the site since March 1.
Authorities were maintaining a volcano warning at a level of three out of five, restricting access to the entire mountain.
Last April, the eruption of Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull volcano dispersed a vast cloud of ash, triggering a huge shutdown of airspace that affected more than 100,000 flights and eight million passengers.