Wintry Weather Turns Deadly in India, Northeast Asia, Russia

Written by Stephanie Kriner, Staff Writer, RedCross.org, with news reports

January 11, 2001 — More than 112 people have died as a result of a bitter cold front sweeping across northern India over the past week, according to CNN. Throughout the foothills of the Himalayas, temperatures have dropped below freezing to as low as minus 22 degrees Celsius (minus four degrees Fahrenheit) - the coldest temperatures to hit the region in several years.

Wintry weather also has hit parts of northeast Asia and Russia with bitter winds and heavy snow and ice that are threatening the lives of thousands.

Forecasters have said that northern India's cold front will grow worse and continue over the next three days. Most of the Indian disaster victims have been homeless people who have succumbed to hypothermia, officials told CNN. Meteorologists blame the frigid temperatures on cold winds sweeping in from Kabul and Kandahar.

The weather has covered India's capital of New Delhi in a blanket of dense fog, slowing traffic on already congested roads and causing flight delays due to the poor visibility. Mountainous Himachal Pradesh and Kashmir have borne the brunt of the cold snap.

The same cold front has swept into Pakistan, where hundreds of thousands of Afghan refugees are shivering in makeshift camps.

Blizzards Strand Thousands Without Food in Inner Mongolia

In China, the worst winter weather conditions in decades have left at least 26 people dead and 17 missing, according to an International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies report. The Inner Mongolian Branch of the Russian Red Cross estimated that up to 1.35 million people are affected with as many as 400,000 people possibly in need of immediate assistance. In addition, some 46,000 head of livestock have died, the Red Cross reported.

Officials warn that the death toll will rise because many areas cannot be reached due to a devastating snow and sandstorm that began New Year's Eve. For three days, snow mixed with sand blown by chilly winds from the Gobi desert, blanketing the northern part of the country and vast stretches of Chinese Inner Mongolia under 60-centimeter (24-inch) mounds. Inner Mongolia is an autonomous region in China that stretches along the country's northern border.

Storms throughout northeast Asia were created when a mass of bitterly cold air from Siberia collided with a moist current sweeping up from the south, China's State Meteorological Administration said. More snowstorms are forecast for the region next week, the meteorological bureau said.

"We are concerned about the harsh winter conditions in northeast Asia and India and are closely monitoring the situation," said Barbara Wetsig, with the American Red Cross. "Thousands of people have already been affected or are at risk of frostbite, hypothermia and starvation. Most at risk are the poor, homeless, elderly and children."

After the worst snowstorm in 50 years, freezing temperatures and violent sandstorms have left tens of thousands of herders and their livestock stranded on the vast grasslands of Inner Mongolia. Making matters worse, the snow and sand have blocked roads, leaving them without access to food, and arousing fears of starvation.

Relief officials struggle to reach the stranded, but shortages of diesel and gasoline have made it difficult to clear snow drifts and ferry desperately needed food and supplies to families, officials told CNN.

One elderly woman collapsed while fighting the bitter and blinding winds to reach a shed just 40 meters (44 yards) from her home to feed her cows and sheep, CNN reported. The body of a shepherd, who had apparently struggled to lead his flock to safety, was discovered buried in snow on Sunday, six days after he had left his brother's home.

The China Red Cross has distributed 50,000 yuan ($6,047) in aid and 1,000 cotton blankets to disaster victims. Authorities said that they are still in need of food relief, fuel and livestock feed. Lan Jun, vice director of the China Red Cross, estimated that the storm caused 900 million yuan ($108.50 million) in damages.

Meanwhile, blizzards have paralyzed South Korea with up to 39 inches of snow, while 8 inches of snow in Japan stopped road and rail traffic. In South Korea, the storms began Sunday, churning up seas and blanketing the country in snow. Weather forecasters are calling it the worst snowstorm in 20 years. The storms paused on Monday, but on Tuesday they dumped another 4 inches of snow.

South Korean airports virtually shut down Sunday. Two dozen houses and thousands of barns and fish farms were destroyed and 1 million farm animals, mostly chickens, were killed, the Associated Press reported. Property damage was estimated at $150 million, officials said.

The storm heaved up high ocean waves. Three fishermen drowned after two boats capsized in high waves near Cheju island, and a fourth was swept away and presumed dead, the Central Disaster Headquarters said.

Parts of Japan received nearly 8 inches of snow in 24 hours by midday Monday, disrupting rail, road and air traffic. At least one person died in a traffic accident that police blamed on the weather.

The Central Asian state of Kazakhstan has also been subjected to its coldest winter weather in 40 years, with at least three people reported dead and dozens hospitalized, the Associated Press reported.

Siberia Power Failures Exacerbate Effects of Cold Front

Further north, the cold weather is even causing problems in the Russian region of Siberia, where residents are accustomed to frigid conditions. Hospitals there have been inundated with frostbite cases as temperatures drop to minus 57 degrees Celsius (minus 70 degress Fahrenheit) and thousands are left without heat due to power failures across the region.

More than 6,000 have been left without heating in the cities of Novosibirsk, Irkutsk and Poligus, located nearly 2,000 miles east of Moscow, media reported. In Novo-Shaktinsk, located in the Primorye region in the Far East, workers are struggling to restore heat to hundreds of people after a December 26 power failure. Children are being sheltered at a sanitarium outside town that still has heat.

The Russian Red Cross is providing food, clothing, blankets and medical assistance to hundreds of Siberians who are hunkering down in unheated homes.

The American Red Cross has operated a food distribution program funded by the United States Department of Agriculture targeting vulnerable populations for two years in the most affected areas, which regularly encounter extreme colds, Rayyis said. "Of course, the most vulnerable are more greatly affected by this disaster but fortunately, they are our primary target in the current feeding program and continue to receive American Red Cross assistance," Rayyis said.