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Severe Winter Storms Persist In China; Fuel And Food Are ShortGUANGZHOU, China (Reuters) — Millions of Chinese faced a humanitarian crisis on Friday as gasoline and food reserves dwindled and yet more bad weather was forecast for a country paralyzed by record-breaking cold and snow. More than 160 counties and cities in central China suffered blackouts and water shortages, the Xinhua news agency said, including Chenzhou, in Hunan Province, a city of four million that has been without power and water for more than a week. “Many trees are severed and power lines have collapsed,” a Chenzhou hotel worker said by telephone. “It’s like we have experienced an air raid or lost a battle. It is a complete mess. We are hungry and cold.” Some 250,000 troops had been mobilized as of Friday to help with disaster relief, Xinhua said, as millions geared up for a cold, dark Lunar New Year next week. Stricken areas of south and central China are suffering the worst winter weather in half a century, with at least 60 people dead in weather-related accidents. Premier Wen Jiabao again visited Hunan, with state television showing pictures of him telling provincial officials to do all they could to restore power and other services. Miners are working overtime and coal has been given priority to speed through the rail network. “Ice on power cables is so thick that it is impossible for the power cables to carry their weight, and power pylons have collapsed,” Zhu Hongren, an official with the National Development and Reform Commission, said at a news conference. State television said Chenzhou’s fuel reserves could last only seven days and its rice could feed residents for five days. Cooking oil and vegetables were also running out, with prices surging. In hard-hit Guizhou Province, prices of gasoline and candles have quadrupled, with the country already facing its highest inflation in more than a decade. Hunan, Guizhou and Jiangxi were all facing fresh storms, and Mr. Zhu said the extreme weather could last another 10 days. Some took to Internet bulletin boards to complain that the government had ignored them, though frustration has so far not boiled over into large-scale unrest. Nearly six million passengers have been stranded on trains or in railroad stations in the past week. For millions of migrant workers, Lunar New Year is their only chance to see families all year. On Friday, the railways were creaking back into action, and the key link between Beijing and Guangzhou had been restored. Numbers of people waiting in Guangzhou’s station were down by half, from a peak estimated at 800,000, but that still left hundreds of thousands scrambling to board delayed trains. Mr. Zhu, the development official, said the disaster had taken an economic toll, but added that “underlying fundamentals” were still sound. “If we take a long-term view, such a disaster will be a temporary one, and therefore its impact on the economy will be short-term,” he said. Tag CloudExternal InformationAdditional InformationMemo From Dili: Aid From China Builds an Ally in East Timor...Southeast Asians Agree to Trade Zone... Pakistan: Train Derails; at Least 50 Dead... Afghan Ministry Bans the Broadcast of 5 Foreign Soap Operas... Where Am I?News Main Page - Business - Severe Winter Storms Persist In China; Fuel And Food Are Short |
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