Big freeze hits northern Asia

Even hardy Siberians find this frost difficult to bear

Fierce blizzards and icy weather which struck last week have left a trail of devastation across vast swathes of northern Asia and the western Pacific seaboard.

The Central Asian state of Kazakhstan has been subjected to its coldest winter weather for 40 years, with at least three people reported dead and dozens hospitalised.

And in the Russian region of Siberia further north, hospitals have been inundated with frostbite cases as temperatures dropped to minus 57.

There have also been reports of more deaths and disruption caused by blizzards across Mongolia, northern China, the Korean peninsula and Japan.

Earlier, the Chinese Government reported dozens of deaths after devastating blizzards swept across a remote northern region on New Year's Eve.

Three days of blizzards were followed by freezing temperatures and violent sandstorms, which left tens of thousands of herders and their livestock stranded on the vast grasslands of Chinese Inner Mongolia.

Blizzards

Temperatures in Kazakhstan were reported as low as minus 47C in the north-east of the country, with severe snowstorms causing further chaos.

BBC Central Asian correspondent Catherine Davis says that even in north-east Kazakhstan, where freezing winds sweep across the open steppes, these kinds of temperatures are unusual.

Firemen's hoses froze before this bus fire could be put out

Two people froze to death after their car got stuck in snowdrifts as blizzards hit over the weekend.

And 20 people were reported stranded in the east of the country after their cars got stuck near a mountain pass. Some are still missing, including a policeman sent to help them.

Local officials said that they were trying to clear the roads - but every time they did there were fresh snow falls.

In contrast, in the south of the vast republic and in other parts of Central Asia, there has been little or no snow for three years.

Heating crisis

In Siberia, people were trying to keep their homes warm as the big freeze led to power failures across the region.

Over 6,000 were reported to have been left without heating in the cities of Novosibirsk, Irkutsk and Poligus.

Local hospitals were struggling to cope with hundreds of cases of frostbite.

And fire services have been unable to fight fires because the water has been freezing in their hoses.

Food and fuel shortage

Blizzards swept neighbouring China the previous week, killing at least 21 people.

More than 60cm (24 inches) of snow mixed in with sand from the Gobi desert fell in what have been described as the worst storms for 50 years.

Now there are fears that the death toll could go much higher as food and fuel supplies run short.

According to an official in the city of Xilinhot, one old woman succumbed to the bitter and blinding winds after trying to reach a shed just 40 metres from her home to feed her sheep and cows.

"People could only see objects two metres away during those first three days," an official said.

Lan Jun, vice-director of the China Red Cross, said that 900,000 people had been affected by the storm and that 10,000 head of livestock were confirmed dead.

According to the China Daily, local authorities have asked the Inner Mongolian Government for 70 million yuan ($8.5m) in aid and requested 5,000 tonnes of diesel and 1,000 tonnes of petrol to cope with the disaster.

Authorities are also seeking feed for livestock, many of which are unable to forage for vegetation that is frozen under sandy snow.