China raises response level for snow, freezing weather amid travel rush

A woman takes photos of the snow scenery in Changsha, central China's Hunan Province, Jan. 22, 2024. Changsha saw its first snowfall of 2024 from Sunday night to Monday morning. (Photo: Xinhua)

China's Ministry of Emergency Management on Saturday raised the emergency response for rain, snow and freezing temperatures in Hubei and Anhui provinces from level IV to level III and required all-out efforts to deal with sudden disasters and prevent casualties and major property losses as heavy snow and freezing rain will occur in many places in central and southern China.

The National Meteorological Center on Saturday continued to issue blizzard orange warning and noted that from Saturday to Sunday, there will be heavy snow in some parts of southern Henan, most of Hubei, central and northern Anhui, central Jiangsu, northern Hunan, eastern Chongqing, and northern Guizhou.

China's State Council on Friday held an executive meeting and requested government departments to strengthen and improve emergency management, and made arrangements for recent and potential disasters resulting from rain, snow and freezing conditions.

According to the impact of the disaster and the needs of local disaster relief work, the National Committee for Disaster Reduction and the Ministry of Emergency Management, together with the National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration, have allocated 40,000 pieces of central disaster relief materials, including cotton coats and quilts, to Hubei and Anhui provinces to support local areas in disaster relief and as assistance for the people affected by the low temperature rain, snow and freezing weather, according to the Ministry of Emergency Management.

The National Committee for Disaster Reduction also dispatched working groups to these places to assist.

The National Meteorological Center issued an orange freezing warning on Friday, the first time that the NMC has issued an orange-level freezing warning, since the system was established in 2010.

The rain and snow freezing weather impacting central and eastern China is reported to be strongest in about 15 years, and is likely to place extra strain on travel for millions over the next few days during the Spring Festival travel rush.

Ten provinces will experience snowstorms or heavy snowfall, while seven provinces will experience freezing rain, media reported. The areas severely affected by rain and snow are mostly located in the central and eastern provinces, which are major transportation hubs in China.

In response to the large-scale low-temperature rain, snow and freezing weather in the regions, the railway departments have taken measures to ensure the safe operation of passenger trains. For example, Shanghai Railway Bureau will suspend 39 passenger trains from February 3 to February 4.

According to the weather conditions, railway bureaus and groups in Wuhan, Zhengzhou, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Xi'an and other places have dynamically adjusted the operation plans of passenger trains, taken preventive measures such as speed reduction to actively avoid safety risks, China Railway Corporation said on Saturday.