Unusually heavy snow continued to fall on Feb. 1 in northern and western prefectures along the Sea of Japan coast, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
Unusually heavy snow continued to fall on Feb. 1 in northern and western prefectures along the Sea of Japan coast, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
The agency attributed the frigid conditions to a cold air mass of minus 42 degrees and warned of continued heavy snow through Feb. 3, adding that conditions would likely peak on Feb. 2.
In Tokyo, the Cabinet Office on Jan. 31 convened a meeting with officials of various ministries to discuss measures to deal with the heavy snow. They also agreed to coordinate disaster management efforts.
According to a report submitted to the meeting, 50 people had died in avalanches and snow removal efforts as of Jan. 30. About two-thirds of the victims were aged 65 or older.
The Sukayu district in the city of Aomori in the northern Tohoku prefecture of the same name, which is renowned for its winter snowfall, was blanketed by 398 centimeters of snow by the evening of Jan. 31.
A snowstorm in disaster-stricken Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture, sharply reduced visibility.
The city's “miracle pine tree,” the only one left standing among 70,000 that were knocked down by the March 11 tsunami last year, cut a forlorn sight as snowflakes swirled around it.