South and east suffer as freeze continues

HEAVY snow and icy rain are continuing to sweep south and east China, disrupting traffic, closing airports and cutting water and power supplies. Xiaoshan Airport in Hangzhou in east China's Zhejiang Province closed at 4:30am yesterday with about 400 flights canceled. In parts of the province, the snow is more than 22 centimeters deep. In the southwest China's Chongqing, the city's Zhoubai Airport was closed because of ice on the runway. Snow and sleet have been sweeping provincial areas, including Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Hunan, Guangxi, Chongqing, Guizhou and Yunnan, since Monday. In Yunnan, the freeze has disrupted power supplies in eight cities. The ice on the power lines was more than 21 millimeters thick in some areas. "To ensure an orderly Spring Festival travel period and power supply, electricity company staff are rushing to repair ice covered lines," said Liao Zelong, of the Yunnan branch of China Southern Power Grid. Sections of the Nanchang-Jiujiang expressway in Jiangxi Province were closed and a traffic jam of up to 20 kilometers had formed in Jiujiang City. Traffic along expressways in Guizhou and Anhui provinces was slowed due to slippery roads. The continuous freezing weather has caused panic buying in at least one city. Some citizens in Changsha, Hunan Province, have rushed to buy daily necessities such as vegetables, rice and edible oil at supermarkets. After the heaviest snowfall in Changsha for 40 years, the municipal government has taken emergency measures to ensure power supplies and price stability for daily necessities.