Power and road hit by cold snap

Source: CCTV.com | 01-26-2008 13:23

Thousands of people have been mobilized to deal with the icy roads and heavy snowdrifts. Meanwhile, forecasters say more snow is on the way over the weekend.

Hotels are now the most popular places in Changsha city. Limits on electricity consumption is pushing residents in the capital of Hunan Province out of their cold homes and into warm hotel rooms.

Chen Jiming, Manager of Huatian Hotel Chain said "All of our 4 hotels are full, and nearly half of the customers are locals."

Cold weather has frozen major power transmission lines in Hunan province and caused serious electricity shortages. Power suppliers have mobilized 8000 workers to repair the lines. The province produced 8 million kilowatts of power on Friday, but this is far below normal levels.

In many areas, electricity shortages have disrupted telecommunications. Authorities are bringing in more power generators to ensure telephone exchange centers can function normally.

Hunan is not the only province suffering from the cold weather. Heavy snow has shut many roads nationwide and emergency plans are in place to keep vehicles running. In northwest China, drivers are fitting chains to their vehicles' wheels and police are escorting cars along highways.

No respite is likely from the freezing temperatures just yet. The national weather bureau is warning that another cold front is likely to hit the country on Friday.

Editor:Xiong Qu