TOKYO, Feb 16 (Reuters) – Heavy snow hit Tokyo and other
parts of eastern Japan over the weekend, leaving 12 people dead,
hundreds of thousands of households without electricity, and
causing major disruptions to air and ground traffic.
Tokyo saw as much as 27 cm (10.6 inches) of snow, on par
with last weekend’s snowstorms, which were the heaviest in 45
years.
ANA Holdings, Japan’s largest carrier, said 338
domestic flights and 12 international flights were cancelled on
Saturday due to the heavy snow.
In Kawasaki, west of Tokyo, a train crashed into another
after the snow rendered its brakes ineffective, leaving 19
passengers injured. It also snarled traffic on some of Tokyo’s
most heavily travelled roads.
The heavy snow also caused wide-spread power outages.
Tokyo Electric Power Co Inc, which serves the
nation’s capital and surrounding regions, said up to 246,000
households were without electricity at one point on Saturday.
As of 12:30 p.m. (0330 GMT) on Sunday, about 18,000 homes
were still without power, the utility said.
(Reporting by Kevin Krolicki, William Mallard and Kiyoshi
Takenaka; Editing by Jeremy Laurence)
