Japan as a whole could be destroyed by a massive volcanic eruption in the next 100 years, warns a recent study.
The island nation is home to about 100 active volcanoes. Researchers at Kobe University suggest that the eruption of these volcanoes could put the lives of more than 127 million people at risk.
Professor Yoshiyuki Tatsumi and associate professor Keiko Suzuki have observed the volcanic crater on the country's Kyushu Island. The volcano has erupted seven times in the last 120,000 years. Another eruption could kill more than seven million people.
If this happened, the westerly winds would carry the ash from the volcano to the island of Honshu and become toxic for all inhabitants.
Tatsumi and Suzuki also suggest that the likelihood of such a devastating eruption in the coming century is at one percent. The scientists explain that the low percentage should not be taken lightly.
Both scientists cited the example of Kobe, a port city, which also had a one percent chance of being hit by a massive earthquake in the next 30 years. However, in 1995, the city was hit by an earthquake registering 7.2 on the Richter scale, which caused the devastating loss of lives and property. The earthquake killed over 6,400 people and more than 200,000 became homeless.
The scientists revealed that even though chances of a massive eruption are low, it should not come as a surprise if one occurs in the near term.
Volcanic eruptions, such as the Mount Ontake eruption in September, which killed over 50 people, may occur without warning.
"It is not an overstatement to say that a colossal volcanic eruption would leave Japan extinct as a country," say Tatsumi and Suzuki.
Volcanic tremors have been reported throughout Japan and the latest one reported is from Ioyama, a mountain on the southwestern island of Kyushu, which is located in the highly active Kirishima mountain range. The volcano is also about 64 kilometers away from the country's Sendai nuclear plant.
The Japan Meteorological Agency also revealed that one of the tremors in Ioyama lasted for about seven minutes.
