The Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, which was hit by heavy snowstorms last winter, received another heavy blow this week as temperatures in the region decreased dramatically.
Warm weather earlier this month had eased snowy conditions in parts of the disaster-struck region, but a cold current this week once again lowered temperatures to 10 degrees centigrade or more below zero.
The temperature fall brought a new round of snowstorms and forced local governments to stop their relief measures.
Local rescue departments reported that thawing snow in northern parts of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region had frozen again, and major roads carrying most of the rescue materials had been blocked by heavy snow.
Snowfall even reached 15 centimeters in northern parts of the region, and 5,000 square kilometers in the southern part of the region has been covered with ice. More than 50,000 livestock have been forced to stay in their stalls.
In northern ranches, some 300,000 cattle are currently expected to give birth, and local officials said 450 mobile stalls are needed to care for the new calves.
Reports from Xinhua News Agency said there was not much hope for the new calves in the worst-struck regions.
"Less than 50 percent of the new-born calves will survive the chilly weather, and weak cows are expected to die from the lack of food," a Xinhua report said.
It said the cattle in the region need at least 15,000 tons of feed to see them through until new grass grows, and that local governments have still not found the needed food.
Local governments said some 20 million yuan (US$2.4 million) is needed to help the cattle ranches, or some 400,000 cattle will die.
Xinhua said governments in the disaster-struck areas had invested all their available funds on the rescue work, and that the money is far from enough to help all the victims.
Areas worst hit by the disaster include the towns of Chifeng and Tongliao and the leagues of Xilingol, Hulunbuir and Hinggan. A league is an administrative unit at the prefecture level in Inner Mongolia.
Eleven non-governmental organizations in China have appealed to the world to help victims of the devastating snowstorms in Inner Mongolia, as well as those that have occurred in Xinjiang.
(China Daily 03/31/2001)
