Heavy snow in large swaths of Japan has killed 17, injured more than 90 people and left hundreds of homes without power, disaster management officials said yesterday.
Powerful winter fronts have dumped heavy snow in northern regions since last week, stranding hundreds of vehicles on highways, delaying delivery services and causing 11 deaths by Saturday.
More snowfall over the Christmas weekend brought the number of dead to 17 and injured to 93 by yesterday morning, the Japanese Fire and Disaster Management Agency said.
Photo: AP
Many of them had fallen while removing snow from the roofs or were buried underneath thick piles of snow sliding off rooftops.
Municipal offices in the snow-hit regions urged residents to use caution during snow removal activity and not to work alone.
The disaster management agency said a woman in her 70s was found dead buried underneath a thick pile of rooftop snow that suddenly fell on her in Yamagata Prefecture’s Nagai, about 300km north of Tokyo, where snow piled up higher than 80cm on Saturday.
In Niigata, known for rice growing, some makers of mochi, or sticky rice cakes that are staple for New Year celebration meals, said there have been delivery delays and their mochi might not reach their customers in time.
Many parts of northeastern Japan reported three times their average snowfall for the season.
Heavy snow knocked down an electric power transmission tower in Japan’s northernmost main island, leaving about 20,000 homes without power on Christmas morning, although electricity was restored in most areas later that day, the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said.
Dozens of trains and flights were also suspended in northern Japan through Sunday, but services have since mostly resumed, the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism said.
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