(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-01-29 09:29

In Shanghai, extra buses were sent to major traffic hubs to deal with a surge of passengers as more people left their cars at home. Anti-skid devices were installed on buses in Nanjing.

In Changsha, Wuhan and other hard-hit cities, vegetable prices have more than doubled. To help keep prices down, the Wuhan government has ordered all highways and expressways not to charge tolls to trucks carrying vegetables to the city.

Eastern Jiangsu Province has seen 1,597 houses collapse due to the snow and 4,370 others have been damaged.

In the agricultural province of Jiangxi, where 13 people have died in snow-related accidents, 220,000 were forced to evacuate and 8.18 million were affected in one way or another. About 2,700 houses were toppled and 56,400 hectares of crops were ruined by the snow.

The local government has allocated 8 million yuan to the 38 hardest-hit counties, cities and districts to ensure that residents have enough food, clean water, warm clothes, safe housing and timely medical care ahead of the Spring Festival.

HIGHEST ALERT FOR MORE SNOW

The China Meteorological Administration (CMA) issued a red alert early on Monday for severe snowstorms in the central and eastern parts of the country.

According to the forecast, heavy snow is set to blanket northern Hunan, eastern Hubei, southeastern Henan and northwestern Zhejiang, as well as most areas of Anhui and Jiangsu provinces on Monday.

In addition, freezing rain will pound some parts of Guizhou, Hunan, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Anhui and Zhejiang.

The CMA warned local governments and departments to prepare for the coming 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.

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