11 dead, flights hit as Japan reels from winter snowstorm
21 Dec 2014 08:07:04
straitstimes.com
Up to 11 people are now reported to have died in a winter snowstorm gripping much of Japan, as forecasters warned bad weather would continue.
Northern and central parts of Japan have been lashed by strong winds that have dumped huge quantities of snow over the last few days.
This has disrupted travel and cut off isolated communities.
The Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper said 11 people were known to have died, including a 79- year-old man and a 29-year-old firefighter, who fell into ditches while clearing snow.
Several others, mainly elderly people, have been killed on the northernmost main island of Hokkaido and in regions near the Sea of Japan (East Sea) in mainland Honshu, reports and officials have said.
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