Japan: Data lacking to predict every eruption

At a press conference held after Saturday’s eruption at Mt. Ontake, the Japan Meteorological Agency admitted failing to forecast the latest eruption. “We can’t predict every eruption,” said the head of the agency’s volcanology section to the Yomiuri Shimbun.

While the key to successfully predict volcanic eruptions is to accumulate data on warning signs detected prior to volcanic eruptions that occurred over the years, agency officials have few experiences with eruptions at Mt. Ontake and the observation system was not sufficient.

“Electricity sources and a sufficient budget are needed to increase monitoring devices,” an agency official said. “Even if we can add monitoring devices, it is difficult to forecast an eruption if changes are slow.”