Sakurajima volcano erupts in Japan

A volcano in southern Japan erupted Sunday, sending a towering ash plume as high as three miles skyward and coating Kagoshima city with ash.

Residents began the cleanup Monday after Mount Sakurajima erupted, sweeping and spraying water, and city officials deployed more than 60 dust wagons and sprinkler trucks to remove dust from the roads.

Officials said the 5,000-meter high ash plume was the volcano's highest since record-keeping began in 1955, dropping 13 grams of ash per square meter over 24 hours, although that measurement was low because the location of the observatory was not directly affected by the falling ash.

Professor Masato Iguchi of Kyoto University, an expert on disaster prevention, said Sakurajima has become increasingly active since 2006, as magma flows get larger and flow more easily.