China on snow patrol

People waiting in line to buy tickets at the railway station of Nanjing on Janurary 26. XINHUA

SEVERE snowstorms over Eastern and Central China have created havoc on the roads throughout the country. The bad weather is creating severe traffic jams and accidents that have left at least 24 people dead, according to Xinhua.

The impact of the harsh weather was increased by the timing of the storms, which arrived just before the lunar new year.

On Monday, the government announced a severe weather warning for the days ahead, as forecasts suggest the snowfall will continue in many areas.

Shanghai is unaccustomed to severe winter weather. Snow hit the city for a third day on Monday, bringing traffic to a crawl and delaying many flights.

A power failure on Saturday night in Hunan Province stopped 136 electric trains from running. Scores of them serve the Beijing-Guangzhou route.

About 500,000 passengers were stranded at railway stations in Guangzhou, according to the Ministry of Railways on Tuesday.

CCTV broadcast scenes of would-be travelers milling around train stations, warning that food and sanitation facilities were inadequate. CCTV recommended that travelers stay in the city where they work.

The authorities arranged temporary lodgings, food and water in a heated exhibition halls opposite the railway station for the stranded people.

The country's transportation problems have been deepened further by power brownout in about half of the provinces.

China, which generates 78 percent of its electricity from coal, suspended 7 percent of its coal-fired power plants after snowstorms disrupted the transportation of fuel, according to the National Development and Reform Commission. By Monday, 17 provinces were rationing power.

The coal supply problems were also caused by the transportation delays.

Provinces were ordered not to hoard their own coal and electricity, and officials said they would cut some transport charges for farm goods and monitor price hikes.

The national forecasting authority said freezing weather would continue to hit provinces in the west and east of China over the next week.

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生词：
havoc 大破坏

strand 困住

lodging 寄宿处

sanitation 卫生设施

hoard 储藏

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