Heavy snow in Japan leaves 17 dead, dozens injured

KABUL (Pajhwok): At least 17 people have died and 93 others wounded as a result of heavy snowfall in Japan, the country’s disaster management officials said.

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 Monday morning, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.

Many of them had fallen while removing snow from roofs or were buried underneath thick piles of snow that slid off rooftops.

Municipal offices urged residents to use caution when removing snow 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 city, about 300km (180 miles) north of Tokyo, where snow piled up higher than 80cm (2.6 feet) on Saturday.

Many parts of north-eastern Japan reported three times their average snowfall for the season.

sa/ma