Heavy snow across Japan has killed 17 people, injured more than 90 and left hundreds of homes without power, disaster management officials said on Monday.
Heavy winter fronts have caused heavy snowfall in northern regions since last week, stranding hundreds of vehicles on roads, delaying delivery services and causing 11 deaths by Saturday. Increased snowfall over the Christmas holidays took the death toll to 17 and 93 injured on Monday morning, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.
Many of the victims had fallen while clearing snow from the roofs or had been buried under heavy drifts of snow sliding off the roofs.
City offices in snow-affected areas have urged residents to exercise caution when clearing snow and not work alone.
The disaster management agency said a woman in her 70s was found dead buried under a thick drift of snow that suddenly fell on her in Nagai city in Yamagata prefecture, about 300 kilometers north of Tokyo. where more than 80 centimeters of snow had settled. accumulated. accumulated on Saturday. .
In rice-growing Niigata, some producers of mochi, or sticky rice cakes that are a staple of New Year’s celebration meals, said there are delays in deliveries and the mochi may not arrive on time to customers. his clients.
Many parts of northeastern Japan reported three times the season’s average snowfall.
Heavy snow toppled a power transmission tower on Japan’s northernmost main island, cutting power to about 20,000 homes on Christmas morning, though power was restored to most areas later that day. according to the Ministry of Economy and Industry.
Dozens of trains and flights were also suspended in northern Japan until Sunday, but services have since resumed, according to the transport ministry.
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