Icy highways stranded tens of thousands of travelers on Friday
as snow and unusually cold temperatures continued to grip large
parts of the country.
The snowy and cold weather, the worst in a decade in many
places, has also left homes collapsed, power blackouts and crops
destroyed.
Millions of people were without heat and hot water, as thick ice
brought down power lines and transport disruptions aggravated
chronic wintertime shortfalls of coal, which produces
three-quarters of the country's electricity.
In Guizhou Province, 28 highways and expressways were closed
because of ice, leaving 27,000 travelers stuck in bus stations in
Tongren and Zunyi, according to the provincial transport
department.
From Thursday evening to next Wednesday, snow and rain will be
seen in most areas in Guizhou, said Tang Zhuqiang, deputy director
of the provincial meteorology bureau, on Thursday.
Seventeen cities and towns in eastern Guizhou witnessed their
longest-ever low temperature period.
The snow also put great pressure on power supplies in the
province, with around one third of mobile transmission stations
forced to shut down.
Thousands of people were stranded in the neighboring Guangxi
Zhuang Autonomous Region, while most highways in neighboring Hunan
Province were closed.
In Changsha, Hunan's capital, electricity for heating equipment
in hotels and entertainment venues has been cut off, according to
Dai Qinghua, a chief engineer of Hunan Power Company.
Dai said more than 8,000 workers were struggling to ensure power
supplies.
More than 32.9 million people have been affected in 10
provinces. Total damage from the prolonged cold temperatures and
snow is estimated so far at 6.23 billion yuan ($864 million),
Xinhua reported.
The Ministry of Communications said that the number of people
traveling by road is expected to increase 5 percent to 2.1 billion
during the Spring Festival holiday season, which lasts about 40
days until March 2.
Millions of people head home from cities for the Lunar New Year,
the biggest holiday for family gatherings, which this year falls on
February 7.
The ministry on Friday ordered ports to temporarily stop loading
coal for export as the country struggles to meet domestic needs
amid the mounting power shortages.
The shortages were expected to continue, with weather
forecasters warning on Friday that heavy snow could sweep swathes
of the country in coming days.
The harsh weather could roll from west to east over the next
three days, the China Meteorological Administration said on its
website (www.cma.gov.cn), forecasting heavy snow, sleet and
rain.
Snow storms could hit parts of the heavily agricultural
heartland provinces of Henan and Hubei, and Anhui Province to the
east.
Temperatures in northern parts of Shaanxi Province could drop to
minus 30 C, the lowest in 50 years.
(Xinhua News Agency January 26, 2008)
