A sudden water spring erupted forcefully, with a column of water reaching heights of up to 40 meters, right in the area of a shrine in Japan, just one day before the annual traditional festival. This has led many Japanese people to view it as a “bad omen.” But what is the scientific explanation for this phenomenon?
Every year, on August 9th, the city of Oshamambe (Japan) holds a Summer Festival featuring traditional rituals at the local Shinto shrine.
This year, however, on August 8th, just one day before the festival, a massive underground spring suddenly erupted violently in the middle of the forest within the shrine’s grounds. Local residents reported hearing a loud “roaring” sound of water early that morning, and when they rushed to the forest, they found water gushing higher than the surrounding trees.
The water column reached heights of 40 meters and has continued to erupt since then, showing no signs of decreasing in intensity or stopping.
The water erupted so strongly and high that it can be seen from afar. (Photo: Nippon TV News 24 Japan).
While some people consider the water eruption to be a good omen, signaling prosperity and abundance, many others are worried and view it as a bad sign, feeling that the sudden emergence of the spring is a sort of disruption or overshadowing of their festival. Moreover, the water has a rather strange smell, raising concerns about its composition.
Subsequently, scientists provided an explanation. According to them, the water erupting from this spring has a temperature of about 20oC and a slightly gray color; analyses of samples revealed that it contains sediments. These factors suggest that the spring may originate from a hot spring beneath the shrine in Oshamambe. However, there is still no specific explanation for why the water is erupting at such an impressive rate.
This is the video of the erupting spring: (Source: Nippon TV News 24 Japan).
Since the spring began erupting, many people from other areas have flocked to Oshamambe to witness it firsthand. The water continues to gush so strongly that the surrounding vegetation has been devastated as if by a storm.
The residents of Oshamambe have started to find the spring quite bothersome, as they have to endure the loud sound of water day and night, and the sulfur smell is so strong that some families do not dare to open their windows. Furthermore, the water spraying into the air increases humidity, causing general inconvenience in daily life.
Geologists mention that such a strong and prolonged water eruption is a very rare phenomenon, and they are uncertain how long it will last.
