Aftermath
The eruption had transformed hundreds of square kilometers of forest and farmland around the mountain into a wasteland. Several villages were completely buried under landslides, which also considerably altered the topography of the region by diverting rivers and creating a number of new lakes. Approximately 1.5 cubic kilometers of the summit of the mountain had collapsed, and flowed northwards.
Japanese geologists Seikei Sekiya and Y. Kikuchi from the Imperial University of Tokyo visited Bandai within days of the eruption. After spending several months studying the new crater and the devastated areas, they published a report in English (“The eruption of Bandai-san” Tokyo Imperial University College of Sciences Journal 3 (1890), pp 91–171), which is considered a classic in volcanology. A photograph of the ruined mountain was the first news photograph printed by the Yomiuri Shimbun in Japan.
The eruption was the first major disaster faced by the fledging Japanese Red Cross, which moved in quickly to provide disaster relief.
The lake district formed by this cataclysm is now known as Urabandai or Bandai-kōgen, and has become a popular tourist destination, especially the multi-hued lakes of Goshiki-numa.
Read more about this topic: 1888 Eruption Of Mount Bandai
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