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As the mercury plunges in Japan's disaster-hit northeast, thousands of people in temporary homes are digging in for what could be a long, hard and very cold winter.
Swirling snow and driving winds will add to the misery of tsunami survivors in a region where the temperature frequently dips below freezing through December, January and February.
Many lost their homes when the monster waves of March 11 swept ashore, killing 20,000 people and grinding whole neighbourhoods into matchwood.
In Ishinomaki, one of the hardest-hit coastal settlements, more than half of the city's 61,000 houses were either swept away completely or severely damaged by the towering tsunami.
City authorities have built more than 7,000 temporary homes that are now providing shelter for around 6,800 families. (Vancouver Sun)