Children die as schools collapse in China’s abnormal snow

Six schoolchildren were among 38 people who have died in the worst storms to hit China in six decades, state media have reported. Major roads in north China have been shut down, leaving at least 10,000 vehicles and up to 30,000 people stranded on roads in Shanxi province alone. The unusual snows have also snarled train traffic, with delays leaving at least 20,000 people sleeping in Beijing's West Station last night. About 4.7 million people in seven provinces have been affected by the snowstorms, which have caused 3.5 billion yuan (£310 million) of damage, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said on its web site today.

Six children in Hebei province were killed at two schools when piled up snow made their canteen roofs collapse collapsed the cafeterias, the People’s Daily reported. Another student was killed when a canteen at another school in Henan province also collapsed, the newspaper reported. Schools in the provincial capital Shijiazhuang have been ordered to close. China’s government promised to improve the quality of school buildings after the Sichuan earthquake of 2008, when thousands of children died when their schools collapsed. Surrounding buildings stayed standing and parents blamed local corruption.China's Prime Minister promised a full and open investigation, but it was never made public.

One person was killed and 25 injured in Shijiazhuang when a warehouse collapsed, according to Xinhua news agency. The snow also caused a gas station in Hebei to collapse, without causing injuries, according to a separate Xinhua report.Nineteen people were killed in traffic accidents that also stranded thousands of motorists, the officials said. Snow may continue for another two days in northern and north eastern China, according to the China Meteorological Administration. The weather in Beijing and Shijiazhuang is forecast to clear, with sunny skies during the next three days and temperatures as low as minus 10 degrees Celsius (14 degrees Fahrenheit), according to the agency.The government promised to improve the quality of school buildings after the earthquake.

China didn’t induce the snowfall this week, said an official with the news department of the China Meteorological Administration, who would only give his surname Li. He denied a report by the China Daily newspaper that the Beijing Weather Modification office seeded clouds on Tuesday. The newspaper called the practice of inducing snow and rain “controversial” in its Nov. 11 report and said “weather manipulation” had caused a “big mess” in the Chinese capital.

By Hayley Jarvis for SOS Children