In southwestern Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, villagers turned to coal oil for illumination after power was cut off amid heavy snow.

The booming province of Guangdong, which usually relies on power transmission from Guizhou and Hunan to meet demand, had to struggle with the worst power shortage in history, after the weather disrupted power transmission.

When coal shipments became stuck on the rail or highways, power plants in Guangdong, whose coal reserves dropped to an alarming level, resorted to using sea routes to ship in emergency coal supplies.

About 4.5 million tons of coal was expected to arrive in Guangzhou, capital city of Guangdong, in a fleet of 125 cargo ships, some of which canceled international missions to assist in shipping coal from north to south, the Guangzhou Daily reported on January 30. It said Guangzhou port opened green passages for incoming cargo ships to unload coal promptly.

Facing a supply and demand gap of 600,000 to 800,000 kw, Guangzhou demanded people limit their use of electric heating and neon lighting at peak hours, on January 29.

In Guizhou, 12 cities and counties were still in the dark with another 19 having only partial power supplies on January 30. A total of 472 power substations ceased operation and 12 electric rail lines were affected in the province.

Meanwhile, China's coal-rich provinces and regions in the north geared up production. Xinhua reported that by January 31, shipments of coal had been multiplied by 200,000 tons by railway in Taiyuan, capital city of coal-abundant Shanxi Province. A total of 13,000 train carriages were loaded with coal each day, 3,000 more than usual.

Stranded

The weather was bitter for millions of people trying to get home to celebrate the Spring Festival, the biggest holiday. Snowstorms forced the closure of 19 airports across the region on January 28. In the airport of Changsha, Hunan, 338 delayed and canceled flights on January 27 forced over 9,000 people to wait at the airports.

In one extreme case about 500,000 passengers were stranded in Guangzhou on January 27 because the Beijing-Guangzhou railway line, a north-south trunk railway, was paralyzed by power failures in Hunan after heavy snow knocked out power transmission facilities. The local government set up simple facilities in large stadiums and conference and exhibition centers, to provide temporary shelter for stranded passengers.

The resumption of power supplies along railway lines eased chaos in the national rail network. The Ministry of Railways announced on January 31 that repairs had restored most traffic on the Beijing-Guangzhou railway line and the Shanghai-Kunming line, two major north-south trunk lines paralyzed by the storm, and put over 95 percent of nationwide railway traffic back into service. A respite in the snow also allowed the closed airports to be reopened on January 30.

Army mobilized

Four transport aircraft from the Chinese air force suspended their military tasks to fly relief materials to areas affected by severe winter weather on January 31.

Immediately after receiving a request from the State Disaster Relief Commission, the aircraft transported quilts and winter coats from bases in Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province, and Changzhi City, Shanxi Province, to south China. In an interview with Xinhua News Agency, Lieutenant-Colonel Chen Zheming of the People's Liberation Army's emergency response group said it only took 40 minutes for the military carriers to take off after receiving the order.

One aircraft transporting supplies from Changzhi to Nanning, capital of Guangxi, finished its mission in the early morning of January 31. The remaining three, scheduled to fly from Xi'an to Guiyang, capital of Guizhou Province, had to put off their flights when sleet closed the airport at their destination city.

In Hunan, tanks and armored cars were put into use to break ice on the artery highway from Beijing to Zhuhai on January 28 when around 11,000 vehicles and 40,000 people were still stuck on it, some for their fifth day.

Soldiers stationed in Shaoguan, Guangdong, sent 29 military kitchen vehicles to cook meals on the spot for over 20,000 passengers stuck on 30 km of highway.

By 6 p.m. of January 30, the army and armed police forces had sent a total of 207,000 people to help with disaster relief. The army donated 419,000 quilts and 219,000 cotton-padded coats to snow-affected areas that were transported by rail, road and air.

Leaders at frontline

When Premier Wen Jiabao arrived by plane in snow-devastated Hunan on the night of January 28, the flight crew were unsure where was safe to land, and there was no plan for how to get him through kilometers of paralyzed traffic.

The flight eventually had to land at an airport in neighboring Hubei Province because of the bad weather in Hunan. He then completed his journey by train and arrived in Changsha City, provincial capital, on the morning of January 29.

Upon his arrival, he held meetings with local officials and officials in departments under the State Council on how to combat ice and snow and how to better direct the disaster relief work.