Snowstorm ravages city in NE China   

黑龙江鹤岗遭50年一遇暴雪 损失近5亿元

截止13日15时，黑龙江鹤岗市持续两天的暴雪已停，累计降水量达到59毫米，雪深50厘米。暴雪导致当地损失近5亿元人民币。

Hegang (CNS) –– The worst snowstorm in half a century to hit Hegang, a prefecture-level city in far northeastern China's Heilongjiang Province, finally ended Tuesday afternoon.

The two-day blizzard, which left up to 50 cm of snow and 59 mm of precipitation, caused nearly 500 million yuan in damage to the city, local authorities said.

The storm flattened 169 houses and damaged 360 vegetable greenhouses. A total of 33,000 hectares of trees were also damaged.

Direct damage to transformer substations and grid lines has cost the city 50 million yuan. The snow also tied up production, causing direct losses of 150 million yuan and indirect losses of 300 million yuan, said local authorities.

The Hegang government said it has allocated 10 million yuan for disaster relief. Power, water and heating supplies were restored to 85 percent of the city by 3 p.m. on Tuesday. Ninety percent of local bus services were restored by 4 p.m.