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Canada troops to help Newfoundland dig out after blizzard
by Staff Writers
Montreal (AFP) Jan 20, 2020

Heavy snow hampers search for missing S. Korean, Nepal trekkers
Kathmandu (AFP) Jan 19, 2020 - Avalanches, heavy snow and poor visibility hampered the search Sunday for four South Koreans and three Nepalis caught in an avalanche in the popular Annapurna region of the Himalayas, officials said

Relatives of the missing Koreans have arrived in Kathmandu alongside several officials sent by Seoul to help with the emergency rescue efforts, Ang Dorjee Sherpa of the Korean Alpine Federation told AFP.

The missing group was near the Annapurna base camp around 3,230 metres (10,600 feet) above sea level when the avalanche struck after heavy snowfall on Friday.

"Our team reached the area but could not proceed with their search because of more avalanches. We are exploring ways to move the operation forward," said Mira Acharya from Nepal's tourism department.

Rescuers were working with Korean officials to deploy drones in the search on Monday, said Dilip Gurung of the tourism management committee in Chhomrong, which lies on the trekking route.

"It is difficult for people to go. We will try to fly drones to help find something," Gurung said.

Helicopters were sent out on Saturday to rescue about 200 people stranded around Annapurna and other nearby mountains after the incident.

Guesthouses and the trekking route were blanketed in a thick layer of snow.

"The snow was very deep and it took us more than double the time to dig through and walk," said Jeevan Dahal, a guide who was rescued by helicopter.

"We saw the avalanche-hit area from the helicopter. Everything was white."

Tek Gurung, a guesthouse owner aiding the search operation, said more than two metres of snow (6.6 feet) had fallen on the trekking trails and it was "extremely difficult" to search the snow-covered area on foot.

Six of the missing were part of the same expedition, while one Nepali porter was escorting a different group.

The four foreigners -- two men and two women -- were part of an 11-member team of South Korean nationals. Others have safely descended.

Education officials in Seoul said they were part of a team of volunteer teachers working with children in Nepal.

Two more South Koreans were due to arrive in Nepal on Sunday to help with the search, the country's foreign ministry said.

Sherpa said it had snowed heavily around Annapurna in recent days, making the trek risky.

"The weather and snow got worse and, feeling it was becoming dangerous and difficult, they decided to turn. As they were heading back the avalanche hit," Sherpa told AFP on Saturday.

Annapurna is an avalanche-prone and technically difficult mountain range with a higher death rate than Everest, the world's highest peak.

Thousands of trekkers visit the route every year for its stunning views of the Himalayas.

A snowstorm killed about 40 people on the circuit in 2014, in one of the biggest trekking tragedies to hit Nepal.

The Canadian army will send 150 to 200 soldiers to Newfoundland and Labrador to help the province recover from a blizzard that buried the region under an unusual amount of snow, Defense Minister Harjit Sajjan announced on Sunday.

The soldiers were expected in the Atlantic province from Sunday evening to help with snow clearing and removal operations.

More than 28 inches (70 centimeters) of snow fell in 24 hours on St John's, the provincial capital.

The snow and snow drifts, caused by winds of more than 60 miles per hour (100 kilometers), blocked roads and buried cars and some houses.

The number of troops, both active and reserve, could reach 250 or 300 in the next few days based on need, Sajjan said.

The Canadian Armed Forces will also provide two Hercules transport planes and two Griffon helicopters, the minister said during a press conference on the sidelines of a government meeting in Winnipeg.

The snow clearing operations are expected to take time and could be complicated by fresh snowfall.

Canadian weather forecasts predict four to six more inches to fall in the next few hours.

Snow shuts schools, delays flights in Iran capital
Tehran (AFP) Jan 19, 2020 - Heavy snow covered the streets of Tehran on Sunday, causing major flight delays and forcing the closure of schools, authorities in the Iranian capital said.

The snow started falling early in the morning and disrupted the flow of traffic on some of the city's main highways, AFP correspondents said.

"We knew that it would snow as of last night and that it naturally affects traffic," head of Tehran's traffic police Mohammadreza Mehmandar told state television.

"On some highways in the north (of Tehran) there was a bit of ice... and accidents were responded to quickly," he added.

Schools in all districts of Tehran city and some parts of the province were closed both in the morning and the afternoon due to the heavy snowfall.

Tehrani children took to parks to build snowmen and start snow fights as the capital was blanketed in white.

The snow dump caused long delays to flights to and from Tehran's Mehrabad International Airport.

"Flights at Mehrabad will go ahead but with delays due to the lack of proper vision," said Reza Jafarzadeh, spokesman for Iran's aviation authority.

But flights were still going according to schedule at Imam Khomeini International Airport, also in Tehran, he added.

Flights at Mehrabad resumed around noon after more than 30 had been cancelled and others delayed for up to seven hours, state news agency IRNA said.

Several flights from Isfahan, Zahedan and Tabriz to Mehrabad had also been cancelled due to the whiteout.

Snowfall is forecast to continue until Monday in Tehran and other northern provinces.


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No business in snow business! Warm weather shutters Japan ski resorts
Tokyo (AFP) Jan 16, 2020
Record low snowfall in Japan has forced many ski resorts to shut their doors and is threatening a World Cup ski jumping competition, with organisers forced to truck in extra powder. Northern Japan saw just 38 percent of its average snowfall in December, with only a "little" snow seen in western Japan, the country's meteorological agency said. The snowfall figures for December are the lowest since the organisation started collecting records in 1961, an agency official said Thursday. "There ar ... read more

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