Ring of Fire tells Asia of its seismic peril

The string of active volcanoes around the Pacific Ocean has lived up to its Ring of Fire name lately, sparking mass evacuations in Indonesia and Vanuatu and unsettling parts of southwestern Japan. The 450 or so volcanoes that make up the ring outline where the massive Pacific Plate grinds against other plates that form the Earth's crust, creating a 40,000-kilometer-long zone prone to earthquakes and other seismic upheaval.

Japan

The Shinmoedake volcano in southwestern Japan started erupting on Wednesday for the first time in six years. An ash plume rose 1,700 meters from the crater on Thursday and ash fell on cities and towns in Miyazaki prefecture. Japanese broadcaster TBS showed students wearing helmets and masks on their way to school at the foot of Shinmoedake. The Japan Meteorological Agency is warning that hot ash and gas clouds known as pyroclastic flows could travel as far as 2 kilometers from the crater, and ash and volcanic rocks are a risk over a wider area depending on the wind direction and elevation. It raised the volcanic alert level from 2 to 3 on a scale of 5. Level 3 warns people to not approach the volcano.