Heavy snowfall leaves thousands without electricity

Heavy snowfall induced by a low pressure system in Northern Japan caused blackouts in over 56-thousand households in Hokkaido Prefecture today. Hokkaido Electric Power company said the snowstorm has affected power transmission cables in the cities of Muroran, Noboribetsu, Toyako, and others cities and municipalities. The company said over 56,130 households are out of power as of 0500 GMT. Japanese Meteorological Agency warned of continued snowfall through this evening, with cumulative snow expected to reach as much as 40 centimetres in the heavy-hit southern coastal areas of Hokkaido through tomorrow afternoon. The agency has issued snow storm warnings in coastal areas of Hokkaido, as well as other northern prefectures Aomori, Akita, Yamagata and Niigata.