By TAMOTSU SUGAO/ Staff Writer
April 12, 2024 at 16:20 JST
FUJINOMIYA, Shizuoka Prefecture—A slush avalanche occurred on the west side of Mount Fuji as strong rain fell in Shizuoka Prefecture, but there was no damage reported to home or structures downstream.
The avalanche was first confirmed at around 8:20 a.m. on April 9 near the Osawa-kuzure valley, according to the land ministry’s Fuji sand erosion control office in Fujinomiya city in the prefecture.
A slush avalanche is a phenomenon in which rain and other factors increase the amount of moisture in the snowpack, causing the totally saturated snow to flow rapidly downhill along with sediment.
A camera installed near the 2,000-meter elevation level of the valley captured the phenomenon.
The cascade then continued intermittently until around noon, the officials said.
The sediment flow stopped at the Osawagawa river sand erosion control facility located at an elevation of 800 meters.
A slush avalanche occurs several times a year on Mount Fuji, typically between March and May, according to officials.
Rain fell from April 8 to 9 on Mount Fuji, the nation's highest peak at 3,776 meters. Heavy rainfall of 23 millimeters in total was recorded during the period from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. on April 9.
The land ministry office is investigating the scale of the avalanche.
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A facility on the west side of Mount Fuji where a slush avalanche occurs on April 9 in Fujinomiya, Shizuoka Prefecture (Provided by the land ministry’s Fuji sand erosion control office)
