Japanese authorities were forced to issue orders of evacuation and restrict areas within a popular hot springs resort after a small volcanic eruption too place in the Mount Hakone area, located near Tokyo in Japan.

Authorities said in a statement that Mount Hakone has been releasing remarkable amounts of steam recently and volcanic ash was found in a valley near it. Due to which, authorities earlier closed some sections of the resort during the beginning of spring.

The Japan's Meteorological Agency (JMA) even raised its alert level from two to three on its scale of five, warning people to stay away from the volcano and its crater, Xinhua news agency reported.

The agency also stated that a larger and deadlier eruption could take place seeing the latest seismic and geological activity. The residential region of Owakudani could be affected by this.

The JMA has confirmed that fresh layers of volcanic ash had been detected near a newly-found vent in the Owakudani valley.

The agency even sent a team of experts to the mountain on Monday morning, while Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's office set up an emergency liaison office to deal with the disaster and its potential escalation.

The JMA said in a statement that it had detected 14 earthquakes on Monday, with magnitudes ranging between 1.9 and 3.2.

Volcanologist Toshitsugu Fujii, an emeritus professor of Tokyo University, said determining the scale at which the volcano may erupt is a challenge. "If magma becomes involved, it could explode at deeper level, and there would be very little warning. Things are now taking place at shallow level and probably it won't go that far. But you can't say when that might change", he said.