Thousands of drivers are stranded on central China’s highways after heavy snowfall during the annual Lunar New Year holiday rush period
BEIJING — Thousands of motorists were trapped by ice on highways in central China as snow and freezing rain moved on planes, trains and roads during the annual Lunar New Year holiday rush.
The Chinese travel blogger said she and her boyfriend joined others on Tuesday to wait for the de-icing work to be completed after covering just 30-40 kilometers (20-25 miles) in 13 hours the previous day. He said he was waiting.
Traveling in a relatively comfortable camper van, Chen Wei seemed fine with the delay in her trip to her hometown. Citing an old Chinese proverb, she told The Associated Press that she “accepts what will happen and faces it calmly.”
The unusually heavy snowfall was expected to continue in central China until Wednesday. Millions of people are heading to their hometowns for Lunar New Year, which falls on Saturday. Families traditionally gather for dinner the night before.
Beijing’s central government announced it would spend 141 million yuan ($20 million) in emergency aid for highway snow removal and related work in 11 provinces to ensure safe travel during the holidays, state broadcaster CCTV reported. Reported.
In Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province, tree branches were broken under the weight of snow, and airport runways were closed due to ice. Some flights and trains were canceled or delayed, leaving travelers stranded for hours.
State emergency management officials told CCTV that 4,000 vehicles were stranded on Monday due to ice. There was no immediate update to those numbers Tuesday.
Chen and her boyfriend were driving from Hangzhou in eastern China to inland Sichuan province when they became stranded in Hubei province. In her widely shared post, she described how she let people stuck in the snow use the bathroom and shared water and sausages.
One person was killed and 13 others were injured when the roof of an agricultural exhibition in neighboring Hunan province collapsed on Monday due to heavy snow, state news agency Xinhua said.
Cotton quilts and other relief supplies are being sent to Hunan province, Xinhua News Agency said.
In Japan, heavy snow fell in the Tokyo area on Monday, disrupting trains, causing power outages and grounding more than 100 flights.