Heavy snowfall in Japan has resulted in 17 deaths and dozens of injuries, as well as hundreds of households losing power.
The heavy snowfall, which some areas experienced three times their typical amount, caused hundreds of vehicles to become stranded on highways, leading to delivery service delays and 11 fatalities by Saturday.
The snowfall continued over the Christmas weekend, bringing the death toll to 17 and the number of injured to 93 by Monday morning, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.
Many fatalities occurred when people attempted to clear snow from their roofs or were buried by snow sliding off rooftops.
In one instance, a woman in her 70s was buried under a pile of rooftop snow suddenly falling on her in Yamagata prefecture.