NIIGATA--The specter of a hard winter fast approaching, and with it deep snow drifts, is adding to the anxieties of Niigata Chuetsu Earthquake victims forced to abandon their homes.

The series of quakes Oct. 23 largely ruined the area's vast network of snow-removal devices--including pipes installed under roads to melt snow, which piles up to several meters in places in the heart of winter. These pipes, as well as wide snow gutters, were put in place long ago to combat some of the heaviest snowfall in Japan.

Local government officials have been so busy dealing with emergency problems, including repairs of electrical facilities and water lines, that they have yet to find time and the resources to fix such facilities.

``It is obvious that the pipes have been seriously damaged,'' said an official of the Nagaoka city government. ``(But) it is difficult to repair all of them in time for the dead of winter.''

The situation is dire because the prefecture's snow season likely will begin in a week or two.

The Niigata regional meteorological observatory says the first snow of the season usually falls Nov. 24 in Tokamachi and Nov. 30 in Nagaoka.

The snow problem comes in many forms: Besides the broken pipes, gutters that channel snow into rivers have also been fractured. Buckled or collapsed roads make it difficult, if not impossible, for snowplows to work. Many homes could collapse if snow accumulates on roofs while residents remain at evacuation centers.

In Nagaoka city, where the earthquake registered lower 6 on the Japanese intensity scale of 7, snow-melting pipes were installed under roads in 1961. It was the first municipality in Japan to do so.

Now, 362 kilometers of pipes run under almost all of the roads in the city. Water, kept at 13 degrees, runs through the pipes and sprinkles onto roads to melt snow and ice.

In addition to pipes installed by the city government, there are others--about 194 kilometers worth--installed by community associations or individuals.

In Ojiya city, where the Oct. 23 quakes registered upper 6, there are 100 kilometers of pipes.

``Damage, especially on the connecting portions of the pipes, is much more serious than we had thought,'' said an official in the city's construction division who was carrying out inspections.

A 73-year-old city butcher said: ``We have at least a 3-meter-high snowfall every winter. We used to remove snow from the roads and rooftops, and pile it up like big walls in front of houses. But since the pipes were installed here and there, no one has done so.''

The temblors also damaged the wide gutters that are used to shove piles of snow into the Shinanogawa river, which runs through the center of the prefecture.

No repairs on the 200 kilometers of gutters have started.

Buckled and damaged roads are also a big problem.

A 37-year-old driver of a snowplow said: ``It is not easy to determine road conditions when the roads are covered in snow. I am scared of driving them this winter.''

In Kawaguchi, where the earthquake registered the maximum intensity of 7, the town office removed the pavement of collapsed roads, and put down gravel as a temporary measure to make the roadways driveable.

But snowplows cannot operate on such roads. Since the removed snow would be mixed with gravel, it cannot be dumped on rice fields and other farmland as is traditionally the case because the gravel would ruin the fields for cultivation.

Snowfall accumulating on rooftops is another serious concern for residents.

A 34-year-old man in Nagaoka city, who is now living in an evacuation shelter, says the pillars of his house cracked during the quakes.

He says that since no one will be living in the house and heating the house, more snow will pile on the roof than usual. It could total as much as 1 meter in one night, he says.

``I'm not sure whether my house can endure the weight of that amount of snow,'' he said.

A staff member of a company specializing in rooftop snow removal said, ``I won't climb to the rooftops of damaged houses because it is too dangerous.''(IHT/Asahi: November 13,2004)