Heavy snowfall in Japan leaves at least 8 dead and 45 injured

MADRID, 23 Dic. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The heavy snowfall that has devastated Japan since last December 17 has caused the death of at least eight people and injured 45 throughout the country.

The Fire and Disaster Management Agency of the Ministry of the Interior and Communications has registered as of this Friday a total balance of eight deaths and 45 injuries in five prefectures Hokkaido, Akita, Yamagata, Nigata and Ishikawa, according to what the NHK television network has learned. .

The storm has been felt mainly on the coasts of the Sea of ​​Japan, but regions where snowfall is not common, such as the shores of the Pacific Ocean on the island of Shikoku, have also been affected by snow.

According to the aforementioned media, on December 20, a 20-year-old woman was found dead in a car buried by snow in the city of Kashiwazaki, in Nigata prefecture. In addition, in the cities of Nagaoka, Kashiwazaki and Ojiya, elderly people over 80 years of age died while removing snow from rooftops.

Among the 45 people affected in six prefectures, 19 of them were seriously injured from broken bones during snow removal work or from ladder accidents.

In addition, due to the temporary defendant, hundreds of vehicles were trapped on one of the main highways that crosses the city of Kashiwazaki this Tuesday, where the delays affected up to 800 vehicles that were stuck on a stretch of road of about 30 kilometers.

That same day, power outages also occurred in at least 20,000 of Nigata due to winter weather. The authorities have urged the population to adopt precautionary measures and avoid problems on the roads.