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LEAD: More snow falls on Sea of Japan coasts, avalanches reported+(Japan Economic Newswire)TOKYO, Dec. 24_(Kyodo) _ (EDS: UPDATING) Heavy snow fell Saturday in areas already blanketed by record amounts of snow, particularly along the Sea of Japan coast, the Japan Meteorological Agency said, causing avalanches and snarling transportation. A 52-year-old man who was removing snow to install a fence at a roadside slope to defend against avalanches was swept away himself by an avalanche for about 12 meters at around 9 a.m. in Ono, Fukui Prefecture, and sustained serious injuries, including broken bones, police said. Another avalanche swept a station wagon on a road in Tsunan, Niigata Prefecture, for about 10 meters at around 9:40 a.m., but a 26-year-old woman and her 1-year-old son inside were rescued, they said. A gymnasium roof in Yamagata, Gifu Prefecture, collapsed Saturday morning under the weight of heavy snow, the police said. Nobody was injured. The snowfall disrupted transportation, as All Nippon Airways canceled a round flight between Tokyo's Haneda and Toyama airport and Japan Airlines' Haneda-bound flight from Izumo, Shimane Prefecture, was about one hour behind schedule, the airlines said. Snow has piled up as high as 163 centimeters in Hida, Gifu Prefecture, topping the previous record of 152 cm, and 97 cm in Niimi, Okayama Prefecture, surpassing the previous record of 95 cm, the agency said. Morioka, Iwate Prefecture, had 61 cm of snow, surpassing the record for December for the first time in 29 years, it said. Some mountainous areas of Niigata, Gifu, Nagano and Fukushima prefectures have had more than 2 meters of snow, including Tsunan, Niigata Prefecture, with 289 cm, Shirakawa, Gifu Prefecture, with 258 centimeters and Nozawaonsen, Nagano Prefecture, with 233 cm as of 11 a.m. Saturday. More snow may fall through Saturday evening, particularly in the Hokuriku area and other regions along the Sea of Japan coast, as cold air continues to flow over the archipelago, the agency said. The agency forecast up to 60 cm of snowfall in 24 hours through 6 a.m. Sunday in the Hokuriku area and up to 40 cm in northern Kinki, Gifu Prefecture, the northern Kanto-Koshin areas and the Sea of Japan side of Tohoku. |