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(4) Snow Storms Brought Disaster to Qinghai Province
[CND, 01/27/98] Ninety-four families are missing due to heavy snow and
sub-zero temperatures in Qinghai Province, AFP reported Monday. According
to a province disaster relief official, some 10,000 people are suffering
from frostbite and snowblindness, among other injuries, and about 300,000
livestock have starved to death by the snow blanket on grazing areas.
Most of the missing families are the daring herders who wandered farther
afield in search of food for their cattle. Temperatures are around -38
degrees Celsius, and roads are blocked by snow, preventing food aid
delivery. Estimated economic losses are about 250 million yuan. The
disaster area is in the barren southern reaches of Qinghai Province in
western China, populated largely by ethnic Tibetans. (Weihe Guan, Guochen
WAN)