Heavy snow wreaks havoc in east, central China

Snow continued to affect parts of China on Saturday, disrupting traffic and causing economic losses.

Eastern Jiangsu Province saw a maximum snowfall of 11.6 millimeters, with a snow depth of up to 11 centimeters as of 2 p.m., leading to a shortage of de-icing salt in Nanjing, the provincial capital.

Nearly 60 bus lines, over 1,000 long-distance coaches and 500 flights have been suspended or canceled. The Nanjing airport was temporarily closed.

Over 7,000 people in the neighboring Anhui Province were affected by the snowfall. Direct economic losses of 24.3 million yuan (3.8 million U.S. dollars), including over 18 million yuan of agricultural losses, were counted in three cities in Anhui.

In central China's Hunan Province, many highway sections were closed, or limited the number of passing vehicles due to snow and ice.

More than 670,000 people in central Hubei Province were affected by the snowfall that started Wednesday, with direct economic losses of more than 270 million yuan as a result of damaged homes and crops.

The provincial civil affairs department has allocated 124,000 yuan of fund for disaster relief and nearly 6,000 overcoats and quilts to affected residents.

According to the emergency center of Shiyan city, Hubei, a pregnant woman with intracranial tumor in a local hospital needed to be transferred to another hospital for emergency operation.

A police motorcade was dispatched to clear the traffic Saturday and a helicopter was used to transport the patient. The baby was born in the afternoon.