Date - A military helicopter spotted cracks opening up yesterday on the slopes of a volcano on Japan's northern island of Hokkaido, a sign the mountain may be about to blow its top, officials said.
Dozens of earthquakes and tremors were shaking the snow-capped volcano and surrounding villages every hour and officials said the danger of an eruption rose as the day wore on.
Cracks up to 100 metres long on the slopes of the 732-metre Mount Usu were spotted by a helicopter patrol, the Meteorological Agency said in an emergency bulletin.
By yesterday evening 11,200 residents had been evacuated from a widening region at the foot of the volcano and about 100 earthquakes were shaking the area every hour.