Blizzard, snow disrupts life in Japan
By IANSFriday, December 31, 2010
TOKYO - Blizzard, snow and avalanche crippled normal life in Japan, causing traffic rush during New Year holiday and casualties in some parts of the country.
Four men on patrol at a ski resort in the town of Kofu, Tottori Prefecture in western Japan were killed in an avalanche Friday, authorities said.
Xinhua reported the victims were found buried in snow following the avalanche, which occurred at around 1 p.m. at Okudaisen ski resort.
The ski resort officials said the four were hit by an avalanche, along with a snow-compressing vehicle, when they went to check a ski slope that had been hit by another avalanche a short while ago.
The heavy snow and an accident paralyzed traffic in Totorri where about 1,000 cars were stuck in a 20 km stretch on a national highway, officials said Saturday.
The traffic jam was triggered when a tanker skid in the town of Daisen and blocked both sides of the road, and the congestion worsened as large amounts of snow continued to fall in the area, the officials said.
The local administration said it has set up a task force to provide supplies, such as blankets and fuel for people stuck in the vehicles.
Traffic was also clogged over some 10 km in the neighbouring Shimane Prefecture in the western Japanese region facing the Sea of Japan, Kyodo News reported.
Snow also caused a local express train, which had stopped between two stations in Daisen due to a fallen tree, to remain stranded for hours, the report said quoting West Japan Railway Co.
Accumulations of over 100 cm of snow were recorded Friday in northern and western parts of Japan. Strong winds of more than 100 km per hour were registered in some parts, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
Nearly a hundred flights were cancelled, while services on some routes were delayed, according to operators.
The Japan Meteorological Agency has warned that a strong pressure pattern is likely to continue in the New Year, with additional snowfall on the Sea of Japan side of western to northern Japan through Sunday.
