A huge sandstorm hit the Jiuquan and Jiayu Pass areas in
northwest China's Gansu
Province Monday night, with an average wind force of 6 and
gusting up to force 8. Visibility in the affected areas declined to
200 meters.
The sandstorm with strong wind suddenly hit the aforementioned
areas at 9:20 PM Monday.
According to the meteorological station of Jiuquan City, the
sandstorm formed in the Alxa League of north China's Inner
Mongolia Autonomous Region at about 5:00 PM Monday and moved
southwest. It swept over an area of about 180,000 square
kilometers, hitting the Jiuquan and Jiayu Pass areas at 9:20
PM.
Xu Dianxiang, an official with the Jiuquan Meteorological
Station, said that sandstorms are rare this time of year. He
attributed this one to dry weather and high temperatures over the
past two weeks.
The gale was reportedly not strong enough to do much harm to
crops.
(Xinhua News Agency July 13, 2004)
