Strong gales sweeping the Yulong Snow Mountain in Yunnan
Province since last Friday have damaged hundreds of homes and
deterred tourists from one of southwest China's best known
attractions.
The gales, sweeping at up to 108 kilometers an hour from Sunday
to Thursday, have damaged at least 360 homes in the mountainous
Jiazi community, 3,000 meters above sea level, blowing away roofs
and toppling walls, said the government of the Naxi autonomous
county of Yulong, in the scenic city of Lijiang.
The winds weakened to about 72 kilometers an hour on Friday, but
showed no sign of ending imminently.
About 2,140 people in 19 villages have been affected, but no
deaths or injuries were reported.
The local government has evacuated almost all the 100 or so
villagers in Yiwanshui, the worst affected village, to temporary
lodging in the urban areas of Lijiang, and the rest of the
residents are living with relatives in safer areas.
The strong gales also damaged facilities along a cableway to the
top of the Yulong Snow Mountain glacier, the best-known tourist
attraction in Yunnan Province. The glacier receives almost 7,000
tourists a day on average during holidays.
The local tourism bureau said the region had been closed to
tourists, and gave no timetable for its reopening.
Most Chinese regions are recovering from three weeks of the
worst winter weather in five decades across central, southern and
eastern provinces in mid-January.
The National Meteorological Center has forecast rain, sleet or
snow in the southwestern provinces of Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan
and the Tibet Autonomous Region in the coming week.
(Xinhua News Agency February 15, 2008)
