Heavy snow falls along Sea of Japan coast

Prefectures along the Sea of Japan coast received heavy snow on Thursday, with the Japan Meteorological Agency issuing a warning for more to come.

The agency said the the heavy snowfall is being caused by a low-pressure system over the Sea of Japan and a cold air mass which has brought the lowest temperatures so far this winter to the Tohoku and Chugoku regions, Fuji TV reported. Officials have warned of disruptions to traffic, train and flight services.

By noon Thursday, 64 centimeters of snow had fallen on Ono City in Fukui Prefecture, and 63 centimeters on Shirakawa City in Gifu Prefecture, the agency said.

The agency said the heavy snow is expected to continue through Friday morning, with the Hokuriku and Tokai regions expected to receive up to 60 centimeters.

The Fire and Disaster Management Agency and local police officials are urging residents in areas where there is heavy snow to exercise caution when clearing snow from the roof. In order to prevent houses from collapsing under the weight of snow, many people including the elderly often use a ladder to climb up onto their roofs but lose their footing on the snowy roofs.

A number of people have also been buried by snow falling off the roof of their houses.

With information from japantoday.com