Qujing, the second largest city in Yunnan Province in southwest
China, is in dire need of power as snow returned to the city since
Tuesday.
Workers are repairing power
facilities in Qujing on February 16, 2008.
As of Saturday, 39 counties and townships in the city, 90
percent of the total, had suffered blackouts, and power grids there
had been seriously damaged, according to government sources.
Meanwhile, more than two million people, 80 percent of the
total, have been affected by the snow-triggered power shortage.
Coal oil, candles, charcoal and coalballs have also made a
comeback in villages where electricity has been cut off.
Blocked roads have choked coal transportation. As a result, most
power plants had just two days of coal left.
As the province's major industrial base, Qujing has an installed
generating capacity of 5.4 million kilowatts, making up 56 percent
of Yunnan's total. Many areas in the province rely on the power
plants in the city.
By Saturday evening, nearly 20 power lines in the city were
disrupted by the snow. Workers are busy fixing the lines and power
grids disconnected by the heavy snow.
Six highways linking the city to the outside had been closed for
two days, stranding more than 30,000 passengers.
Yuan Maozhen, board chairman of China Southern Power Grid,
arrived at Qujing Saturday afternoon to direct repair work on the
power lines.
Yunnan is among the worst-hit provinces in southern China by
snow and icy rains. The provincial department of civil affairs said
on Saturday 12 people had died, four were missing, and more than 10
million had been affected by the prolonged snowy, freezing
weather.
The disaster also wrecked more than 4,000 houses, killed more
than 300,000 cattle and birds, and destroyed about 700,000 hectares
of farmland. Nearly 1,000 power lines were cut off and 55 pylons
had collapsed.
Local meteorological stations forecast that the extreme weather
will continue for a few days more in the northeastern part of the
province.
Snow blocks highways in?Yunnan
(Xinhua News Agency February 17, 2008)
