Photos| Heavy snowfall in Japan… killing 30 people

led Heavy snowfall in Japan has killed 30 people over the past two weeks, officials said Tuesday, including a 91-year-old woman who was found under a three-meter pile of snow outside her home.

The central government deployed forces to help residents in Aomori, the worst-hit area where up to 4.5 meters of snow still covers the ground in remote areas.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi held a meeting Specially at the Cabinet level on Tuesday morning to direct ministers to do everything in their power to prevent deaths and accidents.

A strong cold air mass caused Heavy snowfall.

Among the victims was 91-year-old Kina Jin, whose body was found under a pile of snow in her home in Ajigasawa, Aomori, according to a local police official who requested anonymity. Police believe that snow fell on her from the roof of her house, which led to her death, while the official said that the cause of her death was suffocation. An aluminum shovel was found next to her body.

The source told AFP "As temperatures rise, accumulated snow melts and falls. This depends on the amount of snow and temperature. The area under the roof of a house is a dangerous place"

The governor of Aomori Prefecture, Soichiro Miyashita, said on Monday that he had asked the army to provide disaster relief assistance.

He added that he had asked the forces to help elderly people in the area who live alone and need help clearing snow.
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