Heavy snow blankets Tokyo, other parts of Japan

At least one person was killed and nearly 900 others injured as heavy snowfall disrupted daily life and traffic throughout Japan including most parts of the capital city Tokyo on Tuesday. The season’s first snowfall resulted in more than 43 centimetres of snow in Fujikawagujicho town, 18 cm in Fukushima, 13 cm in Yokohama and 8cm in Tokyo, Japanese news agency Kyodo reported. An elderly man in Nagano prefecture died after falling into a drain while clearing snow in front of his house. Over 500 flights of Japan Airlines Co. and All Nippon Airways Co. were cancelled yesterday and nearly 3,400 travellers had to spend the night in Narita airport, it said. Two of the four runways at Tokyo’s Haneda airport were temporarily closed to remove snow, Kyodo reported. Around 26,000 households also lost power temporarily in Tokyo as power cables were severed under the weight of snow. The capital also witnessed a sudden drop of temperatures from 8.6 degree Celsius early morning to 0.8 degrees in the noon. Major train services resumed operations in Tokyo, although many sections of road remained closed as the snow removal operations continued. Strong winds also hit different parts of the country, especially coastal regions. In areas east of Tokyo, winds upto speeds of 138 kilometres per hour were recorded.