Japan: Dust Clouds Rise From Mount Mayuyama After Earthquake

On August 12, 2026, in Shimabara, Nagasaki Prefecture, a video captured clouds of dust rising from the slope of Mount Mayuyama shortly after a magnitude-4.9 earthquake struck the area. The mountain, located near residential homes, has shown signs of surface erosion since a major earthquake sequence hit the region in late July. Officials monitoring the mountain and the nearby Mount Fugen lava dome said there are currently no signs of a major collapse, though close observation is continuing. Mount Mayuyama is historically significant as the site of a catastrophic collapse in 1792 that triggered a tsunami and killed around 15,000 people in Shimabara and neighboring Kumamoto.