As told by the New York Daily News:
Earthquake, tsunami, nuclear plant meltdowns — as if the people of Japan didn’t have enough to cope with, a volcano began erupting Sunday.
Hundreds of people were forced to flee when the Shinmoedake volcano on the southern island of Kyushu began spewing ash and boulders.
The explosion from the eruption could be heard miles away and an ash plume extended two miles into the sky.
Shinmoedake, one of several volcanic peaks in the Kirishima mountain range, is 950 miles from the epicenter of Friday’s earthquake and scientists weren’t sure if the quake triggered the eruption.
Eruptions and quakes are common in Japan’s “ring of fire.”
The volcano erupted in January – the first major seismic activity on the mountain in 52 years. Scientists say lava had been building up in recent weeks.
This whole event has been simply too large for our feeble grasp. People have been bombarded with too much information of insufficient quality out there in the media jungle.
I’m aware people have been primed by films like The Day After Tomorrow.
The Apocalyptic subtext in the popular imagination is “Oh my God, the world’s gonna end”. We’ve all been infected by that mentality to a degree and the media feeds it.
Fear and panic or calm and resolve – these are the choices facing us armchair viewers.
Thanks for the non-mainstream angles go to Eric. The responsibility for responding healthily to these events is ours, collectively. If pressure is mounting in your head then switch off the TV, get out, take a stroll etc. This is not being an ostrich, it is looking after yourself.
Here is one from LA Times.
http://snipurl.com/apan-quake-volcano
Well Charles, haven’t you noticed that time flows in several directions?
Maybe you can find us a better article on that eruption. Got a sec?
>a volcano began erupting Sunday.
The story is factually incorrect and inconsistent. Shinmoedake has been continuously erupting for almost two months (stronger at some times, weaker at others).
Charles, the story above says as much.
No. This story is wrong. Shinmoedake has been erupting since January 19, 2011.
“Scientists weren’t sure if quake triggered..” Your Fn joking, right? Personally I reckon it’s the other way round, pressure building from Earths churning bowels caused earthquake. & with gut cramps that bad, well, don’t think we seen nothing yet. BTW 9am news here in Australia failed to mention any kind of volcanic activity. Concerns for a 3rd nuclear plant, however. I’m sure Eric’s covered this also…