China steeled for worse weather as holidays loom

By John Ruwitch

SHAOGUAN, China (Reuters) - Work crews battled on Saturday to restore power to parts of southern China blacked out for over a week by the fiercest snow storms in 50 years as the government warned that worse was to come.

Mobilising the might of the state, China has deployed more than 300,000 troops and nearly 1.1 million militia and army reservists to help keep traffic moving and ensure power supplies, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

Repair teams were working flat out to restore power to the southern province of Henan, one of the worst-hit areas. Chenzhou, a city of 4 million, has been without electricity for eight days and petrol and food supplies are running low.

"We will strive to partially restore electricity supply in Chenzhou on Saturday," Xinhua quoted Yin Jijun, an official with China's national grid, as saying.

Fresh falls of snow started to blanket central, south and east China on Friday, prompting the government to warn that the weather crisis had yet to peak.

"The most difficult period is still not over yet. The situation remains grim," the cabinet said in a summary of an emergency meeting to coordinate relief efforts.

As much as 15 cm (6 inches) of snow covered Shanghai, the financial capital, on Saturday while the neighbouring provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang issued alerts for blizzards and icy roads. Beijing was once again cold but clear.

The government said the disaster, which has killed 60 and doomed millions to a cold dark Lunar New Year holiday next week, was still unfolding.