VIDEO: Japanese Volcano Blows Its Top

Enlarge this image toggle caption Jiji Press/AFP/Getty Images Jiji Press/AFP/Getty Images

Dormant for about 300 years, Japan's Shinmoedake is very awake now.

The Associated Press says that the "revived Japanese volcano threw boulders for miles and broke windows 5 miles away in its biggest explosion yet" earlier today. "The blast sent a huge plume of gas and ash into the sky and officials widened the danger zone to keep residents away." It was "the biggest since the Shinmoedake (sheen-moy-DAH'-keh) volcano burst to life last week."

Reuters has this video from the scene in southern Japan: