Mount Ontake Erupts

Above, Mount Ontake in eruption. Associated Press photo.

The current news over the sudden and unexpected eruption of the Mount Ontake volcano in Japan reminded me of the May 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens in Washington. Several people were killed or missing following the eruption that blasted away much of the mountain's peak. Some people were never found.

The Japan Times reported:

OTAKI, NAGANO PREF. – Rescue workers on Sunday found more than 30 people unconscious and feared to be dead near the peak of Mount Ontake, which erupted the day before on the Nagano-Gifu prefectural border, a Japanese police official said. 

There has been no official confirmation of the death toll, but the reports strongly suggested the eruption could have caused one of the largest number of deaths in recent years in Japan. 

The victims, who had been climbing the volcano when it erupted Saturday morning, were found in a state of cardiopulmonary arrest when rescue operations resumed earlier Sunday. Fears of fresh eruptions and toxic gas preventing rescue efforts on Saturday. 

Hundreds of people, including children, were stranded on the mountain after it erupted without warning, sending ash pouring down its slope for more than 3 km. Most made their way down on Saturday evening.

Mount Ontake is Japan's second highest volcano.

The first national park I've visited was Mount Lassen Volcanic National Park in Northern California. Lassen Peak was the last volcano to erupt in the continental United States until the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens.

Following the eruption of Mount St. Helens, the insurance company I worked for at the time sent a catastrophe team to Washington to handle the massive number of claims generated. One of my co-workers was one of those sent and she brought back some volcanic ash for everybody. I still have a small vodka bottle of it.

To read more on the Mount Ontake eruption, go here.