ANAND NAIDOO, ANCHOR: Japanese officials are evacuating thousands of people who live near the base of Mount Usu volcano. Authorities are concerned that hundreds of recent volcanic tremors could lead to disaster. CNN Tokyo bureau chief Marina Kamimura has more.</s>MARINA KAMIMURA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Residents living under the shadows of Mount Usu are used to tremors. As many as 30 a month normally hit the area, many so small they can't be felt. But after as many as 30 to 50 quakes began shaking the area every hour, officials warned that based on past patterns, the nearby volcano could erupt in the next few days. Three towns lie at the foot of Mount Usu, a volcano that rises 730 meters, or 2,400 feet, into the sky in southern Hokkaido, Japan's northernmost main island. The elderly were the first to leave their homes, some seeking shelter in local evacuation centers as early as Tuesday, nervous after the tremors increased in frequency and intensity. By Wednesday, many of the quakes were well above magnitude three, shaking homes, rattling household appliances and nerves. The Japanese are well versed in both volcanic eruptions and quakes, living on a chain of islands that is essentially a string of mountain ranges that rises out of the Pacific in a very seismically active area. While evacuations are commonplace, four people were killed in 1991, many of them journalists and observers that ignored evacuation warnings and were caught in the area when Mount Unzen in southern Japan erupted. Mount Usu, on the other hand, last erupted in 1977 and '78, killing three in ensuing mudslides. And that's where officials say the danger lies this time as well. It's feared that if the volcano erupts, even if there is no outpouring of lava or falling debris, that mudslides could be triggered as snow on the mountain melts, jeopardizing the lives of those that are nearby. Marina Kamimura, CNN, Tokyo.
Japanese Evacuate Near Mount Usu Volcano