December 18, 2020 Tatjana Muskiet
Rescuers are trying to free more than 1,000 vehicles which have been stranded on a highway for two days after a heavy snow storm struck Japan. Authorities have distributed food, fuel and blankets to the drivers on the Kanetsu expressway, which connects the capital Tokyo to Niigata, in the north. The snow, which began on Wednesday evening, has caused multiple traffic jams along the road.
It has also left more than 10,000 homes in the north and west without power. A Kyodo News report said that there were multiple reports of congestion at different points of the Kanetsu expressway. The gridlock began when a trailer got stuck in snow on Wednesday night. Another Kyodo report, quoting police and highway operator East Nippon Expressway Co, said the traffic jam had stretched up to 16.5km (10 miles) along the road at one point. Officials have been using a combination of heavy machinery and physical labour
BBC News
Japan snowstorm: I had to eat snow
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Hundreds of drivers were left stranded when snow blanketed a major travel route in Japan.
Authorities have distributed food, fuel and blankets to the those stuck on the Kanetsu expressway, which connects the capital Tokyo to Niigata, in the north.
The heavy snow is expected to continue through the weekend.
Published
Rescue work continues on Japan highway where 670 cars still stranded in snow Sorry, but your browser needs Javascript to use this site. If you re not sure how to activate it, please refer to this site: https://www.enable-javascript.com/
Kyodo Dec 18, 2020
NIIGATA – Around 670 vehicles remained stranded Friday on a long stretch of highway northwest of Tokyo due to heavy snow, according to the road’s operator, with police officers helping redirect vehicles to alternate routes.
Snow plows and other vehicles were deployed at hard-hit sections of the Kan-Etsu Expressway, which connects Tokyo and Niigata Prefecture, while members of the Ground Self-Defense Force continued their disaster relief work in affected areas after as many as 2,100 vehicles had been stranded on the highway.
Updated 4:43 AM ET, Fri December 18, 2020
An aerial photo shows cars stuck on Kanetsu expressway in Minami-uonuma City, Niigata Prefecture on December. 18, 2020.
Tokyo (CNN)More than 1,000 people in Japan spent Thursday night stuck on a highway in their cars, waiting out a traffic jam with little food or water during a heavy snowstorm.
Reports of the traffic jam, on the Kanetsu Expressway connecting Tokyo and Niigata prefectures, began emerging on Wednesday. By the early hours of Thursday morning, authorities had closed the highway entrance to alleviate clogging.
The jam
began after a car got stuck in deep snow in the middle of the highway, grinding traffic to a halt, according to the Nippon Expressway Company (NEXCO), the country s highway operator.