Over the past 10 days, heavy snowfall across large parts of Japan has claimed the lives of 17 people in the last 10 days, and power went out in thousands of homes, according to Japanese officials.
Heavy snow has fallen on much of the country’s west coast as well as northern Hokkaido in recent days.
Nearly a meter of snow fell in some areas in 24 hours, including the city of Oguni in the northeast of the Yamagata region, local media reported.
The Japan Meteorological Agency has warned residents in the affected regions to refrain from traveling if possible after vehicles were stuck on the roads due to heavy snowfall.
On Monday, government officials said 17 people had died in the snow and dozens more had been injured since Dec. 17.
National broadcaster NHK said the dead included a man who fell off a roof while shoveling snow and a woman found dead after suspected carbon monoxide poisoning in her car.
In Hokkaido, tens of thousands of homes have lost power in recent days due to downed power lines due to snow, although most connections have now been restored.
The heavy snowfall is expected to end from Monday.
