The numbers in Japan look like a natural disaster. The causes look more like household chores. By Wednesday 4 February 2026, officials said about two weeks of heavy snow had killed 35 people, and most of them died doing something ordinary: clearing snow from around their homes.
Niigata prefecture took the worst of it, with 12 deaths. Seven people died in Akita and five in Yamagata. Across the country 393 people were injured, 126 of them seriously, and 42 of those serious cases were in Niigata. Fifteen prefectures reported damage, and in the hardest-hit areas the snow had piled up to about two metres. Fourteen homes were damaged, eight of them in Aomori and three in Niigata.
Falls, not avalanches
The catch is how the deaths happened. Most fatalities and injuries came from falls as people worked on their roofs and yards, and a few victims suffered sudden heart attacks. In Uonuma, a rice-growing city in Niigata, a man in his 50s was found collapsed on the roof of his house on 21 January. In Nagaoka, a man in his 70s was found outside his home and later pronounced dead after a suspected fall from the roof.
Emergency task forces have worked in Niigata and nearby areas since the snow began around 20 January. Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara told reporters to take care when shovelling. “Please do pay close attention to your safety, wearing a helmet or using a lifeline rope, especially when working on clearing snow,” he said.
Warmer weather brings its own risk
The thaw is not simple relief. Temperatures were rising, but officials warned that melting snow can set off landslides and leave surfaces slippery. Forecasters expected another round of heavy snowfall later that weekend.
Officials could not say why the snowfall had lasted so long. Snow deaths are not unusual in Japan, though. The Fire and Disaster Management Agency recorded 68 deaths linked to snow over the six winter months the year before, so 35 in about two weeks is a hard pace to compare against.
Sources
- At least 35 killed after weeks of heavy snowfall in Japan (Sky News, via Yahoo News UK)
- Heavy snowfall in Japan leaves 35 dead as two meters pile up, more storms forecast (CNBC-TV18, AP photo gallery captions)
