Heavy snowfall in Japan: the authorities report 17 dead and dozens injured

Not only the United States suffers from bad weather. In Japan, heavy snowfall over vast regions in the country it caused 17 deaths and injured more than 90 people. According to disaster management authorities, hundreds of homes remain without electricity.

Strong winter fronts hitting the Asian island nation have dumped snow on northern regions since last week, departing hundreds of vehicles stuck on the roadsdelaying delivery services and causing 11 deaths as of Saturday.

More snow over the Christmas weekend lifted the death toll at 17 and injuries at 93 Monday morning, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency. Many of them fell while clearing snow from roofs or were buried under thick drifts of snow sliding off the roofs.

Municipal authorities in snow-affected regions have urged people to be careful when clearing snow and not to work alone.

The Fire and Disaster Management Agency said a 70-year-old woman was found dead buried under a thick drift of snow that suddenly fell on her in Nagai city, Yamagata prefecture, about 300 kilometers (180 miles) a north of Tokyo, where snow piled up to more than 80 centimeters (2.6 feet) on Saturday.

In Niigata, a famous rice-growing city, some producers of mochi (rice cakes considered the staple food for New Year’s celebration meals) said there were delays in deliveries and their mochi may not arrive on time to your customers.

Many areas of northeastern Japan reported three times their average snowfall for the season.

problems with electricity

heavy snow they took down a tower of power on Japan’s northernmost main island, leaving nearly 20,000 homes without electricity on Christmas morning, though service was restored to most areas later that day, according to the Ministry of Economy and Industry.

dozens of trains and flights have also been suspended in the north of Japan until Sunday, but service has since largely resumed, the transport ministry said.

Cold wave in the United States, with 38 dead

Japan isn’t the only country in the world that suffers from bad weather. In the United States, the cold wave that has hit the Midwest and the East of the country has already caused 38 deaths, after seven states have confirmed deaths in the last few hours.

More than 3,000 flights were canceled this Sunday morning, according to the Flight Aware registry. There were 5,800 on Friday, meaning that thousands of people could not be reunited with their families on Christmas Eve.

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