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| Sunday, 15 January 2006 |
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Snow-hit
Japan warns of avalanches, landslides
TOKYO, Jan 14 (Reuters) Japan issued warnings for avalanches, flooding and landslides on Saturday as weathermen forecast warmer temperatures and rains in mountainous areas hit by recent record snowfalls that have caused more than 80 deaths. Eighty-seven people have died in snow-related incidents over the past few weeks, Kyodo news agency reported. Up to 8 cm (3.1 inches) of rain was forecast for northeastern Japan, the area worst-hit by the snow, in the 24 hours up to early Sunday. "We are worried that rains, coupled with water from melting snow, could trigger landslides," said an official at the Meteorological Agency. The agency said temperatures were set to rise this weekend to well above freezing in affected areas, some of which had nearly four metres (13 feet) of snow piled up. About 80 percent of those who have died were over the age of 60, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said, many of them after falling from their roofs while clearing snow. In Niigata prefecture northwest of Tokyo on Saturday, a 72-year-old man died after his two-storey house collapsed under the weight of snow, a police spokesman said. Shortly after returning from a trip to Turkey on Friday, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi instructed his government to work out measures to deal with snow damage. |
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