Sakurajima Ash Plume Breaks All Previous Records: Reaches Three Miles [Video]

A volcano on Mount Sakurajima in southern Japan erupted on Sunday, sending a towering ash plume three miles high into the sky and and coating Kagoshima city with ash.

Residents began to cleanup the city on Monday after the volcano erupted, sweeping and spraying water. City officials deployed more than 60 dust wagons and sprinkler trucks to remove dust and wash the roads.

The 5,000-meter high ash plume was the volcano’s highest since record-keeping began in 1955, according to city officials. Some 13 grams of ash was deposited on each square meter over a period of 24 hours.

However, it turns out that this measurement was probably too low because the location of the observatory was not directly affected by the falling ash.

Professor Masato Iguchi of Kyoto University said Sakurajima has become increasingly active since 2006 as magma flows get larger and flow more easily.