Heavy snow hits western, central Japan
TOKYO. KAZINFORM - Heavy snow fell over a wide area of western and central Japan on Sunday, forcing airlines to cancel many flights and West Japan Railway Co. to reduce the speeds of bullet trains on sections of the Sanyo Shinkansen lines, Kyodo reports.
The blanketing of snow reached as far as southwestern Japanese cities such as Nagasaki and Kagoshima and the temperature in Naha, the prefectural capital of Okinawa, dropped to 8.9 C on Sunday morning, far below January's average low, as a cold air mass gripped the Japanese archipelago.
On Kyushu island, Nagasaki airport in Omura, Nagasaki Prefecture, saw 17 centimeters of snow, Nagasaki City 11 cm, and Kagoshima and Saga 4 cm each.
In the Chugoku region in western Japan where the snowfall was heaviest, the town of Kitahiroshima in Hiroshima Prefecture recorded 74 cm snowfall, while Suzu, Ishikawa Prefecture on the Sea of Japan coast in central Japan, saw 35 cm of snow.
Shortly after midnight Saturday, 11 cars and other vehicles were involved in pileups on a road in Fukuoka Prefecture in freezing condition amid snowfall, injuring two men, police said.
Around 6 a.m., six teenagers who climbed the 847.5-meter Mt. Kusembu straddling Fukuoka and Saga prefectures called for help, saying they were unable to descend due to snow. Local firefighters found them near the peak of the mountain and rescued about one and a half hours later.
The Japan Meteorological Agency warned of continued stormy weather in western and central Japan through Monday and further traffic disruption.
Up to 1 meter of snowfall is expected through Monday morning in the Hokuriku region, 70 cm in Chugoku, and 60cm in Tokai and Kinki, according to the weather agency.