Snow disaster affects 770,000 people in N China

HOHHOT - Thirty-year record-low temperatures and a snow disaster have left two people dead and affected 770,000 others in north China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region, local authorities said Sunday.

Snow has fallen on 917,000 square kilometers, or 78 percent, of Inner Mongolia, with 82,000 square km buried in snow at least 25-centimeters deep, according to the regional meteorological authority.

More than 3,700 residents have been relocated and 260,000 others are in need of emergency aid, sources with the region's civil affairs department said.

By January 4, snow had left about 180,000 head of livestock dead, with direct economic loss estimated at 690 million yuan (110 million U.S. dollars).

Civil affairs authorities have earmarked disaster relief funds that will be allocated to those affected by adverse weather conditions ahead of the Spring Festival, which falls on February 10 this year.