At least 3 die as heavy snow hits Japan
Xinhua, January 15, 2017 Adjust font size:
Japan is suffering the strongest cold front this winter and at least three people were killed as heavy snow hit areas along the Sea of Japan coast on Sunday.
A man in his 80s was found dead in a collapsed greenhouse under the weight of snow in the western Kyoto prefecture, while at least 300 people were injured in snow-related accidents, according to local media.
The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) forecast that the snowfall will continue through Monday and warned people against heavy snow and blizzards.
Train services were delayed on the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen lines, while at least 130 flights were canceled by airlines, including All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines.
As of 8 p.m. local time Sunday (1100 GMT), over 170 cm of snow was recorded in the town of Tsunan in central Niigata prefecture, 142 cm in eastern Gunma prefecture, 86 cm in central Nagano prefecture and 48 cm in eastern Tochigi prefecture.
About 80 cm of snow was forecast for the 24-hour period through 6 p.m. Monday in Niigata prefecture and northern part of Kanto region, 70 cm in Nagano prefecture and Tohoku region in northeastern Japan, 50 cm in Hokkaido and the Tokai region in northern and central Japan, and 40 cm in the Chugoku and Kinki regions in western Japan, respectively. Endit