Heavy Snow Causes More Problems in Japan

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Heavy Snow Causes More Problems in Japan

Child Knocked Out by Snow From Roof As Death Toll Hits 95

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wir ... id=1510017


Japanese Self Defense Force's soldiers remove heavy snow in Shakotan in the northernmost main island of Hokkaido, Japan, Sunday, Jan. 15, 2006. Japan's Meteorological Agency renewed avalanche warnings Sunday as temperatures increased and a man slipped to his death, bringing the toll from recent heavy snowfall to 90 _ the highest in 20 years _ a news report said. The Defense Agency has dispatched some 2,000 military troops to help residents shovel snow. (AP Photo/Kyodo News)
By CHISAKI WATANABE Associated Press Writer
The Associated Press

TOKYO Jan 16, 2006 — A child was knocked unconscious and another injured after being hit by snow that fell from the roof of their kindergarten in northeastern Japan, police said Monday, as reports put the death toll from extreme weather at 95.

The 6-year-old boy remained unconscious in hospital after about 50 centimeters (20 inches) of snow slid off the roof of the 2-storey public kindergarten building in Fukui prefecture (state) without warning, striking him and two other playmates, said local police official Tetsuya Yamauchi.

A 5-year-old boy was seriously injured, while another child suffer a minor shoulder injury, said Yamauchi.


Heavy snow across Japan since December has been blamed for hundreds of injuries and cut off access to several mountain villages, prompting the military to mobilize about 2,000 troops to remove snow from roads and homes.

Earlier Monday, a government team visited Nagano prefecture (state), one of the hardest-hit regions, to meet with local officials and survey relief efforts, according to official Hisashi Yumoto.

Nagano officials asked the central government for more money to clear snow and compensate farmers whose crops were damaged, Yumoto said.

The team will also visit Tsunan town in Niigata prefecture, which was blanketed with 2.89 meters (9.5 feet) of snow, the Cabinet Office said in a statement.

Kyodo News agency said Monday there had been 95 snow-related deaths since early December, citing its own tally. The figure is the highest since the winter of 1983-84, when snow claimed 131 lives in northern Japan, according to the Meteorological Agency.

Fukui, Nagano and Niigata prefectures are between 180-240 kilometers (110-150 miles) north of Tokyo.

The snow and cold spell have caused damage to Japan's agriculture and fisheries worth about 3.67 billion yen (US$32 million; euro26 million) as of Jan. 13, Mamoru Ishihara, vice minister of agriculture, forestry and fisheries, said Monday.

Low temperatures ruined vegetables and fruits, while greenhouses collapsed under the weight of snow, said Agriculture Ministry official Mitsuru Fukuda.


Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.