The first strong cold wave of the season caused heavy snowfall in many areas, resulting in a series of slip accidents and people getting stuck. In Aomori Prefecture, some areas saw the largest amount of snowfall ever recorded. ■Snow on the roof like an avalanche... "A creaking sound" Heavy snow continued to fall in Nikko City, Tochigi Prefecture, through the morning of the 23rd. Kegon Falls, which had a beautiful contrast with the autumn leaves until last month, was now completely covered in snow. It showed a mysterious appearance like a sumi-e painting. Footage of snow falling from a roof taken in Minamiaizu Town, Fukushima Prefecture. Man: "It's not falling yet." The man's prediction was correct. 30 seconds after hearing a rumbling sound...more than 50 centimeters of snow piled up on the roof suddenly collapsed like an avalanche. The woman who took the video said she posted it on social media to warn people about falling snow. The woman who filmed it said, "There was more than one meter of snow (that fell to the ground). At first, I heard the sound of the roof creaking, so I hurriedly recorded the video. It falls every year, but it was the first time I've seen so much snow fall (all at once). The way it fell was abnormal." At a long-established hot spring inn in Yamagata Prefecture, a huge "icicle" appeared hanging from the roof. Compared to the woman who was removing it, it was about one meter tall... The staff call it a "rolled icicle" instead of a "rolled nail" because it grows toward the building instead of straight down. Although it is a beautiful shape created by the cold wave, it is a "nuisance" that can break windows if left unattended. ■ Slips and stranded in various places Rumoi, Hokkaido, is hit by sideways snow. In Biei, a dashcam captured the moment when a serious accident almost occurred. On the side of the road, a car has run into the shoulder of the road, and its rear wheels are lifted and it looks like it is about to fall. Is it the driver? People standing nearby are filmed. As we drove further, a black car jumped out into the opposite lane! It was a moment of near head-on collision. The driver who filmed it said, "I couldn't stop it with the brakes and it started to slip and drift towards me. It was like an ice rink, and if I shook the steering wheel, it felt like I was losing control." Traffic was also stranded in Aomori Prefecture. In Kuroishi City, a truck collided with another truck, temporarily stranding buses and trucks. The driver who filmed the video was unable to move for about five hours. In the image taken in Kuroishi City, the window glass was broken and pure white snow was peeking through the gap. The building where the video was taken was usually used as a garage. Why did the window glass break? In the image taken from outside, a huge mass of snow called a "snow cornice" expands from the roof in an arch shape. The tip broke through the window. According to the owner of the garage, this was the first time he had experienced such a thing in his many years of living in Aomori Prefecture. ■Taxi driver: "It's like driving with your eyes closed" Large, sideways snow continues to fall in Tokamachi City, Niigata Prefecture. The snowy scenery as far as the eye can see is like a snowy field. It's impossible to tell where the road ends. A taxi driver who has been on the road for 20 years also said the following. Taxi driver: "When it snows for the first time and it's a heavy snowfall, you can't see anything at once. If it snows all at once, everything is hidden. It's like driving with your eyes closed." On the way over the mountain pass, a car got stuck. Man: "(Q. Are your tires winter tires?) They are winter tires. Even with winter tires, this can happen..." A man who came to Niigata Prefecture from Tokyo for work. He got stuck in the middle of going uphill. Man: "The chains have come off, so I'm trying my best." Perhaps because he is not used to it, he has anti-slip tire covers on his tires, but they seem to have slipped off. A local taxi driver accompanying the reporting team fixes the tire covers that have slipped off. The taxi driver said, "Let's just make a U-turn here. We can't go up any further. We can't go up this hill." The man decided not to go over the pass and to go down the mountain. ■ Local snow removal group clears snow in place of the elderly On the 23rd, 60 centimeters of snow had accumulated in Tokamachi City. Thick snow and icicles were on the roofs. At times, the snow fell in clumps. A resident shoveling snow: "(Q: How much have you done now?) Four times a day. The snow is heavy this year." "(Q: Is the snow wet at this time of year?) Normally it's fine when it dries." "(Q: Can't you get your car out?) Yes. I got my car out this morning..." Apparently, he had cleared the snow around the parking lot to get his car out this morning, but a thick layer of snow had piled up around his car again. More than 40% of the residents of Tokamachi City are over 65 years old. The heavy work of snow removal is a serious problem for the elderly. At the end of the road was a lonely house with no other houses around it. The client was an 82-year-old woman. Snow removal requester: "I'm grateful that the heavy machinery workers and snow removal crews come." The local snow removal group, made up of members in their 20s to 50s, removes snow on behalf of elderly people who cannot shovel snow. First, they use a snowplow to make a path so that the client can get out onto the road. Suzuki Kazuto of the Kamagawa Snow Removal Group: "I go in once a morning, around 5 or 6 o'clock." "(Q. Do you remove snow twice a day?) Sometimes three times. Many times. If you don't do that, it's hard for the residents, isn't it?" In fact, this is the second time that day that snow has been removed. When we cleared the road that we had cleared in the morning, we noticed that the snow was up to waist height. In addition, snow that has fallen from roofs piles up around the house, so we also remove snow around the house. Suzuki: "(Q. It's difficult for people in their 80s to do this, isn't it?) Yes, that's true." "Since there are many elderly people, many of them ask us to help them because they can't get up onto the roof by themselves, so we have to do it for them." After clearing the snow around the house, the work for the day was finished. Snow removal requester: "(Q. It feels good and refreshing, right?) Thank you. I'm glad." ■ Snowfall reaches 3m in Sukayu JAF dispatch requests continue On the 23rd, people were busy shoveling snow in Hirosaki City, Aomori Prefecture, where the snowfall was the heaviest on record for December. A 90-year-old woman shoveling snow: "My daughter calls me from Kawasaki, telling me not to shovel snow, but I can't stay still. I'm going to collapse." A 90-year-old woman who can't stay still when the snow piles up, even when people around her tell her not to. On the other hand, residents also said the following. Resident shoveling snow: "This year is special. It fell a lot early." "If we're not careful, there can be no snow on New Year's Day, so it's unusual for it to snow this much in December." The cold wave caused snowfall in Sukayu to exceed 3 meters in one go. This is the first time in recorded history that snowfall has exceeded 3 meters in Sukayu in December. JAF received multiple requests to be dispatched due to this heavy snowfall. As the snow continued to fall, I arrived at the scene and found a four-wheel drive vehicle stuck in the snow. Client: "It slipped and couldn't move." "My relatives pulled it out with a small excavator, but it got stuck and there was nothing they could do, so I asked JAF for help." Team member: "I can't see the condition of the road. What's going on here? What if there was no snow to begin with? Maybe there's a flower bed or something?" Client: "No, no, no." Since the ground is covered in snow and cannot be seen, we shovel the snow away to check the situation. JAF Aomori Branch Team member Miyazaki Kiyokazu: "We've seen a sharp increase in requests for stuck and slipped vehicles due to snow damage over the past week. We've had about 80 to 90 of these in Aomori Prefecture." ■Unexpected snow...hot spring hotel reservations also canceled One car is currently stuck on the way down a mountain road. It is believed to have slipped on the snowy road. Minakami Town, Gunma Prefecture, where snowfall exceeded one meter for the first time this season in the Kanto region. The driver said, "I slowed down on the way up and it was impossible, so I couldn't turn around either." He put on chains and somehow managed to get out. The hot spring inn is proud of its snow-viewing baths. There are many skiers, so snow should be welcome, but the unexpected amount of snow caused many cancellations of reservations. Tamura Tae, proprietress of Minakami Onsen Seiryu no Yado Tamura, said, "It's a bit too much. The day before, I said, 'I'm not confident driving on snowy roads, so I'm going to cancel.' It can't be helped." A man who came from Chiba Prefecture to snowboard. He was worried about the way home, so he gave up snowboarding and decided to go home. The man from Chiba Prefecture said, "I come here every year, but this is the first time I've seen something like this." The innkeeper also saw him off with a worried look on his face. (From "Hatori Shinichi Morning Show" broadcast on December 24, 2024) [TV Asahi News] https://news.tv-asahi.co.jp