Japan has recorded a heavy human toll due to an unprecedented wave of snowfall that hit wide areas of the north and northwest of the country, leaving 18 dead and 267 injured, according to official data issued by the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.
Since January 20th, the Japanese authorities have begun a precise count of the victims and losses, following the first wave of the snowstorm, before the situation became more complicated with the arrival of a second, more severe wave on the 25th of the same month, which deepened the crisis. Several regions witnessed record levels of snow accumulation, where the thickness of the snow cover in the Hakkoda mountain range in Aomori Prefecture exceeded 4.6 meters, while the city of Sapporo, the largest city on the island of Hokkaido, was submerged under more than 1.1 meters of snow, in a scene that disrupted the daily lives of residents. The bad weather led to a near-total paralysis in traffic, after trains stopped on a number of vital lines, including those linking cities and airports. This caused a great congestion inside the "Shin-Chitose" airport, where thousands of travelers were forced to stay inside for days waiting for conditions to improve. According to official estimates, about 481,000 people were affected by this widespread disruption in transportation, which prompted the authorities to raise the state of maximum alert and intensify rescue and logistical support efforts, in light of the ongoing harsh winter season.
