Heavy snow plagues China

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Source: CCTV.com | 01-21-2008 13:24

Heavy snow has continued to fall over large parts of China on the weekend, causing traffic chaos and damaging crops. Rescue attempts are underway on roads above 6,000 meters in Tibet Autonomous Region.

In some places, the depth of the snow was three to five meters. Temperatures are around minus 30 degree Celsius.

Tibet Autonomous Region received good news when a highway linking to the northwestern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region was reopened on Sunday evening after being closed for 80 hours because of the snow.

In some places, the depth of the snow was three to five meters. Temperatures are around minus 30 degree Celsius.

Local police rescued 25 vehicles and 85 people stranded in the snow, including the 11-member rescue team who got stuck themselves while attempting to help others on Friday.

In Central Hubei province, more than 1,000 kilometers of highway - that's about half of the province's roads - have been closed since Saturday. More than 92 percent of the scheduled long-distance coaches running from the provincial capital Wuhan were cancelled. According to the Wuhan Observatory, the snowfall is the largest on record in the area since 1991.

In Anhui Province in eastern China, nearly 400 workers are repairing four power transmission towers that were brought down by ice in the Dabieshan mountains. The towers are part of a major cable network that sends electricity to Shanghai from the Three Gorges Project. Officials said the power supply has been temporarily rerouted via other lines to its destination. The repair of the towers is expected to last eight days.

Heavy snowfall also caused trouble in many other parts of China. In southern Guangzhou, several flights were delayed, stranding 5,000 passengers. In southwestern Guizhou, roads have been closed due to icy conditions. Snow has also fallen in Beijing this morning. The Central Meteorological Station is forecasting more snow in central China.

Editor:Zhang Ning