© Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP/Getty Images A plume of smoke rises from the crater of Mount Shinmoedake in the Kirishima mountain range of Kagoshima prefecture, Japan.
Shinmoedake, a volcano on Japan's southern island of Kyushu, erupted again as the government said it will send officials to the area to help local authorities create an evacuation plan.
The 1,421-meter (4,660 feet) volcano in the Kirishima range erupted at 9:42 a.m. local time following three eruptions yesterday, sending a plume of ash and smoke as high as 3,000 meters, a branch division of the agency said in a
statement. The plume was drifting east-northeast toward Miyazaki Prefecture's Pacific coastline, the statement said.
The government plans to send a group of natural disaster officials to the area as early as Feb. 7, Shigeo Ochi, an official at the Cabinet Office, said in a telephone interview today. Japan's Meteorological Agency is maintaining a
level 3 alert for Shinmoedake, indicating an eruption "may seriously affect places near residential areas." Evacuations are carried out when the alert reaches the maximum 5.
Comment: This event appears to be closely related to the recent Cyclone Yasi in the northern parts of Queensland. Take a look at the latest satellite imagery to appreciate the size of the storm cell.
For readers outside of Australia - the state of Victoria is located in the South-East corner of the country.