Niigata asking for snow removal help from the Ground Self Defense Force

This week, Niigata Prefecture requested help from the Ground Self-Defense Force to remove dangerous roof snow in Uonuma City, just next door to where I am based in Minamiuonuma. 

We're fortunate that our house has a water pump system that helps melt the snow on our roof, but that's certainly not the case for every single house out here. For some people (especially elderly residents living alone, of which there are many!) snow removal is a massive task that's become too much to handle. In Uonuma specifically, several homes were at real risk of collapsing under the weight of accumulated snow, which sounds terrifying.

About 70 JGSDF members were dispatched, and they cleared off roofs with shovels, ropes, and even high-altitude work vehicles. I'm grateful that the prefecture was smart enough to ask for help, because this year's winter has already seen 17 fatalities in our region.