TOKYO, Feb 4, (AP): Heavy snow piling up in northern Japan in the last two weeks has blocked roads and is blamed for dozens of deaths nationwide so far, government officials said Wednesday. As of Wednesday, 15 prefectures have been affected, with the amount of snow piled up in the worst hit areas estimated to have reached 2 meters (6.5 feet).

Unusually heavy snow has fallen in parts of Japan in recent days, largely due to a cold air mass from the Arctic that has lingered over the Japanese archipelago. Most of the 35 deaths and hundreds of injuries reported across Japan were caused by falls among people trying to clear their homes of snow. The biggest number of snow-related fatalities, at 12 people, was reported in Niigata prefecture, a rice-growing region in northern Japan, including a man in his 50s who was found collapsed on the roof of his home in Uonuma city on Jan. 21.

In Nagaoka city, a 70-year-old is believed to have died after falling from his roof, according to the Niigata government. Japan’s chief government spokesperson warned that, although the weather was getting warmer, more danger could lie ahead because snow would start melting, resulting in landslides and slippery surfaces. "Please do pay close attention to your safety, wearing a helmet or using a lifeline rope, especially when working on clearing snow,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara told reporters. Injuries nationwide numbered 393, including 126 serious injuries, 42 of them in Niigata.

Fourteen homes were damaged, three in Niigata and eight in Aomori prefecture. A mound of snow fell on a highway in Aomori, blocking traffic. No one was injured, but Japanese media reports showed a huge chunk of icy snow stacked up on the side of a road. The reason behind the heavy snowfall is unclear. But deaths and accidents related to heavy snow are not uncommon in Japan, with 68 deaths reported over the six winter months the previous year, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency. More heavy snow is forecast for the coming weekend in northern Japan