Melting snow causes 700 in disaster in Xinjiang

Melting snow in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has brought misery to over 700 people, according to government authorities on Saturday.

Since early March, floods, landslides and geological events resulting from melting snow have affected several counties along the Ili River valley in northwestern Xinjiang, affected over 700 people and damaging about 500 local homes, according to Civil Affairs Department of Xinjiang.

The melting snow has also cut roads in the region.

The situation in the Ili valley will worsen in coming days as temperatures rise, according to the region's weather bureau.