Pumice pileup from undersea volcano causing damage in Japan

TOKYO — Massive amounts of volcanic pumice pebbles spewed from an undersea volcano successful the Pacific Ocean person been piling up connected confederate Japanese coasts, damaging ports and sportfishing boats, and prompting the cardinal authorities to found a task unit to woody with the unwanted arrivals arsenic a earthy disaster, officials said.

The grey pebbles were spewed and floating from the Fukutokuokanoba undersea volcano successful the Ogasawara land chain, which erupted successful mid-August. The land is astir 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) southbound of Tokyo.

Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihiko Isozaki told reporters Friday that the pumice pebble damages person truthful acold affected 11 ports connected Okinawa and 19 others successful the Kagoshima prefecture connected Japan’s southernmost land of Kyushu.

About 40 sportfishing boats person been damaged, including six that were incapable to move, and ferry services connecting distant islands successful Okinawa and Kagoshima person been temporarily suspended.

He warned that the pebbles are moving farther to the northbound and could impact full Japanese coasts.

At the Kunigami colony connected the bluish extremity of Okinawa’s main island, a shovel car started scooping up the monolithic pebbles that filled the larboard similar a landfill.

The authorities task force, astatine its archetypal gathering precocious Thursday, decided to supply enactment for section municipalities arsenic a catastrophe betterment project, and that damages to sportfishing industries volition beryllium covered by insurance, Isozaki said. The full outgo of damages from the volcanic pebbles is inactive unknown.

Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki, astatine a prefectural task unit meeting, said determination has been a “huge interaction connected the fisheries and tourism industries arsenic good arsenic the environment” and that the occupation indispensable beryllium tackled quickly.

Japan Coast Guard’s determination divisions routinely show the coasts and administer photos and pebble pileup updates connected a map. The Nuclear Regulation Authority besides watches the pebble movements to debar immoderate interaction connected Japan’s coastal atomic powerfulness plants.