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| Vehicles are stopped on the Hokuriku Expressway (Expressway) in Fukui Prefecture on the 10th due to the heavy snowfall in the Hokuriku region in central Japan. © Reuters = News 1 |
In recent years, human and property damages are continuing due to the heavy snowfall in central Japan, Niigata Prefecture, and other areas in the Hokuriku region.
According to NHK and Asahi Shimbun, it was counted that 8 people died and 277 people were injured in 4 prefectures in the Hokuriku region adjacent to the East Sea, including Niigata, Fukui, Toyama, and Ishikawa, where heavy snow fell from the 7th, as well as in nearby Gifu Prefectures. .
NHK quoted local police and fire department officials, saying, “Most of the dead and injured people were in accidents after snow removal work.”
In particular, in a residential area in Toyama Prefecture on the afternoon of the 10th, a man in his 60s who was in a snowy vehicle was found dead.
Authorities are investigating the exact cause of death, considering that the man’s car was ignited and the exhaust gas smelled badly inside the car, and was addicted to the exhaust gas (carbon monoxide) penetrating into the car.
NHK also reported that “a man in his 60s who was in a car with an engine started in a parking lot in a restaurant in Ishikawa Prefecture was found dead from carbon monoxide poisoning.”
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| On the 9th, Fukui Train Station in Fukui Prefecture, Japan, was covered in heavy snow. © AFP=News1 |
In the midst of this, it is known that a total of 153 people from 79 households have been isolated due to the cut off roads going to and from the mountain villages in the border area of Ishikawa and Toyama Prefecture due to the heavy snow.
According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, in the case of Joetsu City in Niigata Prefecture, at least 10 observations including snowfall reached 187 cm in the last 72 hours until the night of the 10th, Sarakawa Village in Gifu Prefecture (162 cm) and Tonami City in Toyama Prefecture (138 cm). Recorded the highest snowfall ever recorded at the site.
In addition, on some highways and national highways in the Hokuriku region, at one time, 200 to 1,200 vehicles per section were trapped in the snow, and self-defense forces and officials from nearby local governments conducted relief activities against drivers.
Some train routes, such as the Hokuriku Shinkansen, were also suspended due to the effect of this snow.
The Japan Meteorological Agency said, “The’peak’ of heavy snow seems to have passed, but for a while, it seems that the’peak’ of heavy snow has passed through the four prefectures of Hokuriku due to the influence of the winter-type atmospheric pressure and the strong cold that permeated from the north. There may be places where this becomes stronger, and especially as the daytime temperature rises, an avalanche may occur.”