Japan's volcano erupts for the second consecutive day

The eruption of the Sakurajima volcano in Japan's Kagoshima Prefecture continued for the second straight on Monday. After the evacuation order was issued a day ago, the weather agency shared this information. Following the latest eruption, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) raised its eruption warning for the volcano by two notches to an all-time high of 5 on its warning system, Xinhua news agency reported.

Nearby the volcano, residents of the towns of Arimura and Furusato were initially issued an evacuation order, with the JMA stating that parts of the city of Kagoshima within 3 km of the two craters may have fallen large volcanic rocks.

The weather agency also said that people should be on alert for pyroclastic flows within a radius of about 2 km of the volcano.

"Sakurajima's volcanic activity is intensifying. People in residential areas should be on the highest alert for falling near large volcanic rocks," a JMA official told reporters here.

There are no reports of injury or damage from the blast that occurred at around 8.05 pm on Sunday, although the agency reiterated its warning.

The government is assessing the situation and a task force has been constituted in the Prime Minister's Office to monitor the situation.

Sakurajima is one of the most active volcanoes in Japan. It first erupted in January, sending volcanic ash a kilometer into the air.