Heavy snow has killed 17 people, injured more than 90 and left hundreds of homes without power in large parts of Japan, disaster management officials said Monday.
Strong winter fronts have dumped heavy snow on northern regions since last week, stranding hundreds of cars on highways, delaying delivery services and killing 11 people by Saturday. More snow over the Christmas weekend brought the death toll to 17 and injured 93 on Monday morning, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency. Many of them fell during snow removal from the roofs or were buried under thick piles of snow that slid off the roofs.
Municipal authorities in snow-affected areas urged residents to be careful when clearing snow and not to work alone.
The disaster management agency said the woman, in her 70s, was found buried under heavy snow that suddenly fell on her in Nagai, Yamagata Prefecture, 180 miles north of Tokyo.
In the rice-growing city of Niigata, makers of mochi, or glutinous rice cakes, a staple of New Year’s meals, say there have been delivery delays and their mochi may not reach customers in time.
Many areas in northeastern Japan experienced three times the average snowfall for the season.
Heavy snow brought down a power tower on Japan’s northernmost main island and left about 20,000 homes without power on Christmas morning, but power was restored in most areas later that day, according to the Ministry of Economy and Industry. supply is restored.
Dozens of trains and flights were also suspended in northern Japan until Sunday, but services have since largely resumed, according to the transport ministry.
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