csnow1 Lyrics

January 31, 2008
Holiday hell

Thousands of travellers surround buses that transfer them from a temporary shelter to the railway station in China's southern city of Guangzhou yesterday. AFP

Everything in China seems to happen on a large scale. The extent of the storm described below is huge, probably covering more than the whole area of Thailand. And whereas in Thailand, hundreds or thousands of people might suffer from a weather-related disaster, in China it is hundreds of thousands or even millions. Just to give you an idea of how big a problem a storm at this time of year can cause, more than 180 million people are expected to travel during the Chinese New Year holiday period.

shelter - a place where people are protected from bad weather or danger ที่หลบภัย ที่พักชั่วคราว
extent - the size or area of something ขอบเขต บริเวณ
scale - the size of something, especially when it is big ขนาด เช่น ความกว้าง ใหญ่ของสิ่งต่างๆ
disaster - something very bad that happens and causes a lot of damage or kills a lot of people ภัยพิบัติ มหันตภัย

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Army sent in to battle snow chaos
AFP

Beijing - China dispatched the army yesterday to help millions of people stranded by snowstorms that have caused transport gridlock, crippled power distribution and left many towns and villages short on supplies.

At least 460,000 troops from the People's Liberation Army and paramilitary forces fanned out across parts of China where dozens of people have died amid the worst storms in 50 years, the government said.

''The People's Liberation Army has ordered its troops to go all out to help those battling the heavy snow in the southern part of the country,'' the China Daily newspaper said. ''The troops were ordered to give whatever a__istance local governments required.''

China is intensifying its efforts to deal with the punishing weather, which has caused chaos on the roads and railways just as millions of people swamp the transport system for the annual Lunar New Year holiday.

State news agency Xinhua said China was waging ''all-out war'' as weather forecasters predicted more blizzards and icy conditions into next week. Army helicopters will try to reach those suffering from cold and lack of drinking water in areas cut off by the snow.

One million police officers have also been deployed to maintain order on roads and in rail stations where transport has ground to a halt, while the Health Ministry sent out 14,000 medics.

At least 50 deaths have been blamed on more than two weeks of icy weather and 78 million people across large parts of central, southern and eastern China have been affected, the government said.

It said more than 30 million people had been hit by power outages as the freeze has sharply raised demand for electricity while affecting distribution of coal, source of 75% of China's power.

chaos - a situation in which everything is confused and in a mess กลียุค ความสับสนอลหม่าน
dispatched - sent someone or something somewhere ส่งออกไป
stranded - left somewhere with no way of going anywhere else ติดอยู่ใน ตกอยู่ในสภาพที่ยากลำบาก
gridlock - a situation in which traffic cannot move รถติดเป็นอัมพาต ขยับไม่ได้
crippled - damaged severely or unable to work properly พังจนใช้การไม่ได้
paramilitary - providing support for an army or other military organisation ให้กำลังเสริม กองหนุน
fanned out - spread out; moved apart over a wide area กระจายออกไปทั่วบริเวณ
intensifying - strengthening or increasing เพิ่ม เสริม กำลัง
swamp - to enter in very large numbers, making it difficult or impossible to deal with the situation หลั่งไหลเข้ามาเป็นจำนวนมาก ล้นหลามจนรับไปไม่ไหว
annual - happening every year ประจำปี
blizzard - heavy snow and wind พายุหิมะ
deployed - put in place to do a job จัดกำัลัง
medics - people trained to give medical treatment หน่วยปฐมพยาบาล หน่วยแพทย์หรือพยาบาล (หรือหมอชาวบ้าน)
power outages - power cuts ไฟดับ ไปตก
distribution - the process of supplying goods การลำเลียงสินค้า

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Sharp rises in food prices are adding to inflation that was at 11-year highs, causing concern in Beijing as inflation has historically caused social unrest.

In a reflection of mounting government alarm, Premier Wen Jiabao went on a public relations offensive rare for Chinese leaders, wading into crowds of marooned train passengers.

''This has been very hard on everyone. Every level of government is working on getting electricity restored, after that transport will resume,'' he was quoted as telling the crowd at the main train station in the southern city of Guangzhou.

According to Xinhua, 217,000 passengers were stranded in Guangzhou yesterday, down from an estimated 500,000 reported on Monday.

Meanwhile, signs emerged that the traffic gridlock is easing.

''The situation is improving,'' Police Ministry spokesman Wu Heping said. ''One of the key tasks now is to reopen the expressway linking Beijing with Zhuhai city in Guangdong province.''

About 6,400 vehicles with 10,000 passengers remain stranded along the Hunan section of the road, he added.

Over a dozen major airports forced to close earlier in the week had re-opened yesterday. And long-distance bus traffic in regions hit hard by the storms also restarted services.

inflation - a period of rising prices, making money less valuable
unrest - angry or violent behaviour by people who are protesting against something
reflection - something that clearly shows something
mounting - increasing
alarm - fear or worry that something unpleasant or dangerous might happen
offensive - a major action or attack
rare - unusual; seldom happening
wading - walking with difficulty through something, usually water or some other liquid, but in this case, a large group of people
marooned - stranded; left or caught in a place and unable to leave
restored - brought back into use
emerged - became known or seen
key - most important
tasks - jobs
linking - connecting