According to a Vietnam News Agency correspondent in Japan, heavy snow fell across Tokyo and the Kanto region from noon on February 5 to the morning of February 6, seriously affecting the traffic network in the capital and surrounding areas during rush hour in the afternoon. bright.
This is the first time since February 2022 that a minimum snow accumulation of 1 cm has been measured in the central Tokyo area. This is also the first time in about a year that a heavy snowfall warning has been issued for 23 wards of Tokyo.
As of early morning on February 6, several train lines in the Kanto region were still shut down, including sections of the Yokohama line and Chuo line. Many sections of expressways such as the Metropolitan Expressway, Tomei Expressway, Shin-Tomei Expressway, Chuo Expressway, Kan-Etsu Expressway and Tohoku Expressway were closed.
Tokyo’s Yurikamome elevated train line had two trains stuck between Shinbashi and Takeshiba stations at around 9pm on February 5, forcing about 550 passengers to walk along the tracks to Shiodome station.
Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways canceled 114 flights, mainly at Tokyo’s Haneda airport. East Japan Railway Company (JR East) has suspended some express trains on the Chuo line and shinkansen trains on the Tokaido Shinkansen line.
According to the Tokyo Fire Department, on the evening of February 5, emergency services in Tokyo began receiving calls related to injuries, of which about 40 people were taken to the hospital by ambulance.
Several power outages were reported in areas managed by Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings. The power outage affected about 14,400 homes in Tokyo and 6 prefectures in Eastern Japan at 10:30 p.m. on February 5. Many automakers, including Toyota Motor, Honda Motor and Nissan Motor, have suspended full or partial operations at some factories.
Snow also fell heavily in mountainous areas in the prefectures of the Kanto-Koshin region, Gifu Prefecture and Shizuoka Prefecture in the Tokai region and Fukushima Prefecture in the Tohoku region. In Eastern Japan, 10 cm of snowfall was recorded in Maebashi, Gunma Prefecture, as of 11pm on February 5.
It is forecast that by 6:00 p.m. on February 6, snowfall will reach 40 cm in the mountainous areas of northern Kanto and 30 cm in Chichibu in Saitama Prefecture, Tama in Tokyo, Hakone in Kanagawa, the central Koshin region, Fukushima and Gifu. Up to 15 cm of snow is forecast in plain areas in Kanto.
Previously, on the evening of February 5, the Japan Meteorological Agency issued a heavy snow warning for 23 wards of Tokyo and most of the Kanto-Koshin area, calling for caution against traffic disruptions and icy roads. and avalanches until the morning of February 6. The warnings were later downgraded to recommendations.
The Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism requires drivers to install winter tires on their vehicles or carry snow chains and limit going out unless absolutely necessary.