Heavy snow has killed 24 in China since Jan. 10, Xinhua quoted the Ministry of Civil Affairs as reporting here today. More than 77.86 million people had been affected by snow in 14 provinces, including Anhui, Jiangxi and Henan, by 2 p.m. on Monday, according to the ministry. Among the deaths, 10 died from collapsed houses weighed down by heavy snow, while another 10 died after falling on slippery roads. Two people drowned and two were hit by falling trees laden with heavy snow. The snow has affected more than 4.2 million hectares of farmland. It had also collapsed about 107,000 houses and damaged 399,000 homes leading to a direct economic loss of 22.09 billion yuan (about 3 billion U.S. dollars). According to reports of local civil affairs bureaus, snowstorms continues in some southern provinces, such as Hunan and Hubei, while some areas in Guizhou, Anhui, Jiangxi and Guangxi provinces are being hit by icy rain.
