Japan: Heavy snowfall expected in quake-hit Ishikawa province

By Alperen Aktas

ISTANBUL (AA) – Rescuers in Japan may face a difficult task in continuing operations in the seacoast central Japanese Ishikawa province, which was devastated by a massive earthquake, as the weather authority forecasted heavy snowfall through Monday.

As the death toll in Japan's quake-hit Ishikawa provinces rose to 128, with 195 people still missing, weather officials issued an alert to rescue workers on Sunday about potential traffic disruptions due to icy roads and snow accumulations in disaster-affected areas.

The prefecture could receive up to 60 centimeters (23.6 inches) of snow in the next 24 hours, Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported.

Local officials are also having trouble delivering relief supplies to affected areas as roads remain damaged and often blocked, while thousands of homes are without power.

Some 33,000 people have been evacuated to around 370 shelters in Ishikawa, which has faced the worst human loss and infrastructure damage.

On Monday, a strong magnitude 7.6 earthquake hit the Ishikawa province, destroying a dozen buildings and causing huge damage to roads in the region, followed by smaller quakes.

Earlier on Sunday, the Japan Meteorological Agency reported two more aftershocks of magnitude 4.5.