Bad weather has caused such disruption in mountainous areas of
southern and central China that the government has ordered the
deployment of military helicopters to aid disaster relief work.
"The winter storms have caused more damage than other disasters
such as the flooding in 1998. Since some hard-hit places are in
mountainous areas it has been difficult for local governments to
launch a relief campaign," said Wang Zhenyao, director of the
disaster relief department at the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
"The situation in some mountainous areas of Hunan, Hubei, Anhui,
Jiangxi, Guizhou provinces and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region is
more serious comparatively, as the continuing snowfall has
paralyzed transportation," said Wang.
"The large number of passengers traveling home to celebrate the
coming New Year festival, which starts on Feb. 6 has made the whole
thing even worse," he added.
China's railway officials had estimated a passenger flow of
178.6 million over the holiday period.
Up to now 158,000 army troops and the Chinese People's Armed
Police (PAP) and 303,000 paramilitary members have joined the
relief effort, and nearly one million police have been dispatched
to keep traffic in order on China's road network, which in many
areas has been paralyzed by the harsh weather.
(Xinhua News Agency January 30, 2008)