Tokyo
Thousands of vehicles were stranded on a Japanese highway for days after an intense blizzard caused a traffic jam spanning miles.
As of Saturday night local time, the jam was largely cleared out — but earlier at least 600 drivers were still waiting to be rescued from the Kanetsu Expressway, which links Tokyo to Niigata prefecture. Officials provided blankets, food, portable toilets and gas for stuck drivers, reported Kyodo News in Japan.
Much of the snow was cleared out Friday by plows and manual labor, but the lane traveling into Tokyo was still largely clogged by traffic.
“I hardly slept, and I was worried because I had absolutely no information (about the situation),” one man traveling to his home near Japan’s capital told the news outlet.
The ordeal began after a trailer truck got stuck in the snow Wednesday night, the BBC reported, during one of the most intense snowstorms this year. The pile-up continued through the following day and up to 2,100 cars were stuck.
Kyodo News reported the traffic extended more than 10 miles at its worst around Thursday evening. Some passengers were on the road for nearly two days.
At least two people were hospitalized for respiratory issues and nausea, Tsuyoshi Watanabe, Niigata Prefecture’s crisis management officer, told CNN.
The storm was happening amid another wave of the coronavirus crisis in Japan.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has been scrutinized for his handling of the pandemic, with approval rates plummeting in the past three months. Suga recently held an emergency Cabinet meeting and urged residents to remain cautious as the storm reaches its final days, reported Kyodo News.—AP
