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WHITE OUT
11 dead, 1,200 injured as heavy snow hits Japan: reports
by Staff Writers
Tokyo (AFP) Feb 09, 2014


5.1 magnitude quake near Japan's Fukushima: US geologists
Hong Kong (AFP) Feb 07, 2014 - A 5.1 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Japan's Fukushima prefecture early on Saturday morning, the United States Geological Survey said.

The moderate quake hit 34 kilometres (21 miles) east of coastal Namie city in Fukushima prefecture, where a devastating quake-tsunami in March 2011 sparked a nuclear disaster and caused massive damage.

Saturday's earthquake occurred at 2:18 am local time (1718 GMT) off the east coast of Japan's main Honshu island, at a depth of 63 kilometres, US geologists said in a preliminary report.

No tsunami warning was issued after the tremor, the Japan Meteorological Agency said, according to Kyodo news agency.

The heaviest snow in decades in Tokyo and other areas of Japan has left at least 11 dead and more than 1,200 injured across the country, reports said Sunday.

As much as 27 centimetres (10.6 inches) of snow was recorded in Tokyo by late Saturday, the heaviest fall in the capital for 45 years, according to meteorologists.

The storm hit Tokyo on the eve of its gubernatorial election.

Observers say the weather may affect voter turnout in the city of 13 million people. As of 6:00 pm (0900 GMT) turnout was down more than 10 percentage points from a previous poll during the last mayoral election.

As a depression moved along the Pacific coast Saturday, the northeastern city of Sendai saw 35 centimetres (13.8 inches) of snow, the heaviest in 78 years.

Local media said at least 11 people have been killed with one person also in critical condition in snow-linked accidents -- mostly crashes after their cars skidded on icy roads.

In central Aichi prefecture, a 50-year-old man died after his car slipped on the icy road and rammed into an advertisement steel pole, a local rescuer said.

Public broadcaster NHK reported at least 1,253 people were injured across the nation, many of whom had slipped on the ground or fallen while shovelling the snow off their roofs.

More than 20,000 households were without electricity early Sunday while airlines cancelled more than 400 domestic flights a day after over 740 flights were grounded.

Nearly 5,000 people were stranded at Narita airport Saturday as traffic linking the airport to the capital was disrupted, NHK said.

Further snowfall is expected Sunday in the northern part of the country, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

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A Chicago researcher says people actually do get used to cold weather, the kind folks across a large swath of the United States are experiencing this winter. Peter Doran of the University of Illinois at Chicago says the human body will naturally adjust to the cold so it can function. "You are feeling it here now," Doran told the Chicago Tribune this week as Windy City temperature ... read more


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