Awwal 09, 1432 H/Feb 12, 2011, SPA -- Three and a half feet of snow buried South Korea's east coast Saturday, destroying dozens of houses and stranding drivers, officials said, according to UPI. President Lee Myung-bak ordered the military in to distribute food to snowbound people and aid cleanup efforts, Yonhap reported. A highway connecting several cities in the area, including Sancheok and Yangyang, was closed for 18 hours, trapping 250 vehicles in freezing cold. Meteorologists said two-day snowfall in the area reached 3.6 feet in Samcheok, 3.2 feet in Donghae, 1.8 feet in the mountain pass of Daegwallyeong and 1.4 feet in Sokcho. Gangneung got 2.5 feet on Friday alone, the heaviest single-day total in a century. The snowfall also forced mass cancellations or delays of buses and trains. The roofs of dozens of houses, livestock sheds, greenhouses and a bowling alley caved in.
