Heavy snow in China has killed four people since Jan. 12 in
central China's Hubei Province and eastern China's Anhui Province,
according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs here on Monday.
The heavy snow has affected 8.05 million people and 5,750 people
have been relocated in the two areas, sources with the ministry
said.
Crops covering 557.300 hectares and 9,178 houses have been
destroyed, sources said, adding the direct economic losses has
reached 1.14 billion yuan (157 million U.S. dollars).
The snow in Hubei is the heaviest fall in the past 16 years,
with 12 cities each reporting accumulated snow over 10
centimeters.
More than 1,000 km of highway, about half of the central
province's roads, were closed since Saturday. More then 8,800 of
the scheduled 9,500 long-distance coaches departing from Wuhan,
Hubei's capital, were cancelled, forcing about 300,000 passengers
to change travel plans.
In Anhui, The snow started to hit the areas of Anqing, Lu'an,
Hefei and others on Jan. 12. Northern Anhui also registered
accumulated snow over 10 centimeters. Yuexi County in the capital
Hefei saw its biggest ever snowfall with the maximum depth
exceeding 50 cm. Traffic was blocked, while power supply and
telephone lines were cut off temporarily in some towns and
villages.
(Xinhua News Agency January 21, 2008)