Twitter users in Japan speculate that Mount Fuji may erupt after a 4.8-magnitude earthquake – Mothership.SG

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After the 4.8-magnitude earthquake near Japan’s highest peak, Mount Fuji, on the morning of December 3, the hashtag “Mount Fuji eruption” began appearing on Japanese Twitter, Reuters reported.

However, the Japan Meteorological Agency has since announced that there is no indication that the earthquake will increase the chances of an active volcano eruption.

According to Kyodo News, an official from the agency, Shinya Tsukada, said there was no particular change to the volcanic monitoring data on the country’s highest peak.

The 3,776-meter mountain is located 100 kilometers west of Tokyo, the capital of Japan.

An earthquake of magnitude 4.8 is considered light on the Richter scale. While they can be felt, they generally do no harm.

More similar tremors can occur within a week

Kyodo News reported that there were no initial reports of injuries or serious damage to infrastructure after the quake struck near Mount Fuji in Yamanashi Prefecture at 6:43 a.m. local time, according to the government agency.

The quake was reportedly felt in parts of Tokyo by residents, and the agency added that quakes of similar intensity could occur within seven days, although there was no threat of a tsunami following the initial quake.

Currently active Mount Fuji erupted more than 300 years ago, although there are periods when hundreds of tremors can be recorded within a month, Reuters reported.

There is no big traffic disturbance

In addition, about 600 households in Yamanashi Prefecture were affected by the power outage, and some trains operated at low speeds after the quake, according to Kyodo News.

While part of the highway running through Yamanashi Prefecture saw its speed limit drop to 50 kilometers per hour, Shinkansen bullet trains continued to operate as normal.

There were no major disturbances in traffic.

Osaka also recorded earthquakes

On the other hand, Wakayama Prefecture near Osaka also recorded an earthquake with an initial magnitude of 5.4 on the same day, Kyodo News reported.

The earthquake occurred around 9:28 a.m., and the Meteorological Agency dismissed a tsunami risk.

The government has warned of the consequences of the possible eruption of Mount Fuji

Earlier on March 31, 2020, a Japanese government commission released a report that said Tokyo’s train and highway networks would be paralyzed within three hours in the event of an eruption of Mount Fuji, Reuters reported.

That’s because a small amount of ash from a volcanic eruption can halt train services, while the electricity supply can be affected with ash fall of 0.3 cm or more, according to Sankei Shimbun.

Motorcycles may be unusable if there is 10cm of dry ash, or less than 3cm of ash when it rains.

The chair of the commission, Toshitsugu Fujii, stressed the need for emergency response and recovery measures.

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