The worst winter weather to hit central, eastern and southern
China in decades could persist into the Year of the Rat, weather
officials said.
The severe weather, which has killed at least 60 people and left
millions facing a cold, dark Lunar New Year holiday, could last till
February 8 or 9, according to the latest forecasts from the Central
Meteorological Station on Saturday morning.
Residents walk in the snow
along the pavement in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang
Province, on February 1, 2008. The city suffered another round of
strong snowfall causing inconvenience of daily life.
It said that heavy snow would continue on Saturday in the
central province of Hunan and in Jiangxi, Anhui, Jiangsu,
Shanghaiand Zhejiang to the east. A new round of snow was likely to
fall on Monday and Tuesday.
Much-needed warmer temperatures were unlikely even after the
snow began to end around Feb. 8, chief weatherman Yang Guiming
warned.
"In many provinces, roads will remain icy, and it takes time to
return to warm temperatures," he said. "When it gets warm and the
ice and snow melt, we have to watch out for road mishaps, floods
and other problems."
Experts said that the snow disaster had displaced the 1998
Yangtze River flood as the largest natural disaster in decades. The
1998 flood affected 2.3 million people.
Zhejiang Province had received at least 10 cm of snowfall by
Friday night. Airports in Hangzhou and Ningbo were closed and the
freeways were open only to trucks carrying relief materials.
For the first time in 135 years, Shanghai posted a yellow
snowstorm alert on Friday. By Saturday morning, it had received
15cm of snow.
Affected by the weather, the Shanghai port at the mouth of the
Yangtze River was closed as of 1:00 AM Saturday. The move stranded
more than 1,000 ships and cancelled the departures of 200.
(Xinhua News Agency February 2, 2008)
