This Massive Volcano Caused An Insane Lightning Storm When It Erupted

A volcano reportedly erupted in southern Japan on Friday with a huge burst of lava, ash and stones.

Located in the city of Kagoshima, the volcano Sakurajima has been fairly active since August, prompting officials to warn residents of a possible evacuation.

The 3,665-foot volcano erupted at about 7 pm local time, according to Yahoo! News.

Volcanic lightning apparently flashed within the lava, most likely due to the friction between ash particles and gases.

Approximately 4,000 people live near Sakurajima, but no one was reportedly hurt.

Kyoto University professor and volcanologist Kazuhiro Ishihara told Sky News,

It appears that stones have been thrown about two kilometers from the crater, but this area is quite far from any communities. I don't think there will be any serious impact from the explosion.

Situated just 31 miles away from the volcano is the Sendai Nuclear Power Plant, which has two operational reactors many feared could be damaged in the event of an eruption.

These reactors were reportedly not affected, however, and it does not appear anyone even lost power.

But environmental group Greenpeace released a statement saying the plant's operator, Kyushu Electric Power, conducted a "flawed volcano risk analysis."

The group added Kyushu "underestimated the potential impacts of ash deposits on operations of the Sendai nuclear reactors following a major volcanic eruption."

One of over 100 active volcanoes in Japan, Sakurajima regularly spews smoke and ash and, therefore, is a major tourist destination.

Its last major eruption sent plumes of ash over three miles into the air in 2013 but caused no major injuries.

The volcano sits along the "Ring of Fire," a horseshoe-shaped sphere of fault lines and volcanoes triggering many of the world's earthquakes and eruptions.

In 2014, an eruption from Mount Ontake killed 58 people in Japan's deadliest eruption in nearly 90 years.

Citations: Sakurajima Volcano Erupts Near Nuclear Plant (Sky News), Volcano in southern Japan erupts in fiery show of nature (Yahoo! News)