Premier Wen Jiabao has rushed to Hunan to help direct
disaster relief work in the central Chinese province, which has
been hit by appalling weather.
Wen flew out of Beijing on Monday night, but had to land at
Tianhe Airport in neighboring Hubei Province because of the bad
weather in Hunan, before completing his journey by train. He
arrived in Changsha city, Hunan's capital, on Tuesday morning.
Upon his arrival, he immediately held meetings with officials
from Hunan and those in departments under the State Council on how
to combat ice and snow and how to better direct the disaster relief
work.
The snow, the heaviest in a decade in many places, has been
falling in east, central and south China for more than a fortnight.
It has caused deaths, structural collapse, blackouts, highway
closures and crop destruction.
A total of 24 people had died around the country because of the
weather since Jan. 10, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said on
Monday.
More than 77.86 million people had been affected by the snow in
14 provinces, including Anhui, Jiangxi, Hubei and Hunan, by 2:00
p.m. on Monday, according to the ministry.
Hunan and the western Guizhou Province have been the worst hit
by the unprecedented spell of severe weather.
The China Meteorological Administration (CMA) issued a red alert
early on Monday for severe snowstorms in the central and eastern
parts of the country.
It warned local governments and departments to prepare for more
bad weather. Transport, railway, electricity and communication
departments were advised to prepare post-snow clean-ups, while
suggesting citizens in these areas should avoid unnecessary outdoor
activities.
(Xinhua News Agency January 29, 2008)
