TOKYO: The Japan Meteorological Agency has decided to launch more robust ‘wide-area’ ashfall forecasts to prepare for the ash that would hit the Tokyo metropolitan area after a major eruption of Mt. Fuji. The system will be designed to predict ashfall over a wider area and over many hours, the Japan News reported.

An eruption of Mt. Fuji could bring more than 30 centimetres of ashfall in surrounding areas, resulting in serious damage, such as collapsed homes and paralysed transport networks.

The agency aims for the system to facilitate prompt responses to a disaster. It plans to start developing the system from next fiscal year and launch it as early as within a few years.

During the past 5,600 years, Mt. Fuji is believed to have erupted every 30 years on average. However, it has not erupted for over three centuries, since the Hoei eruption.

After the Hoei eruption started on Dec. 16, 1707, ash from Mt. Fuji fell intermittently for 16 days and reached what is now central Tokyo, blown by winds at higher al
titudes. Mt. Fuji is estimated to have shot out around 1.7 billion cubic meters of ash and other substances.

The agency plans to set up a new post focused on planning and coordinating information on volcanic ashfall in the next fiscal year and accelerate efforts to introduce wide-area ashfall forecasts.

A panel of experts for the government is also discussing measures to take for a Mt. Fuji eruption and plans to compile guidelines by the end of this year.

Source: Emirates News Agency