Icy weather disrupts south China

NANNING - Icy weather in south China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region has affected about 100,000 people and caused economic losses of more than 50 million yuan (8.02 million U. S. dollars), local authorities said Sunday.

Statistics released by the civil affairs department of Guangxi showed that a total of 95,800 people in ten counties have been affected by the extreme weather. Among them, 146 people have been relocated and 4,926 have had difficulty getting sufficient drinking water.

The icy weather, which has affected the region since Friday, has damaged 8,310 hectares of crops and brought about economic losses of 59,117 million yuan, according to the department.

Persistant snow and icy weather is wreaking havoc in other parts of the country.

The meteorological authority in central China's Hunan Province said electricity wires in 43 counties and cities in the province are covered with ice, and traffic has been disrupted as parts of the expressways are frozen over.

The National Meteorological Center forecasts that snow and rain will continue over the next few days, and a new cold front is expected to hit the country on Tuesday, bringing strong rain to south China.

Some parts of south China will also see heavy snow or snowstorms, according to the center.