Snow storm kills 40 in China

Unusually early snow storms in north-central China have claimed 40 lives, caused thousands of buildings to collapse and destroyed almost 500,000 acres of winter crops, China Civil Affairs Ministry said.

Unusually early snow storms in north-central China have claimed 40 lives, caused thousands of buildings to collapse and destroyed almost 500,000 acres of winter crops, China Civil Affairs Ministry said.

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More than 7.5 million people have been affected by the storms, which led to the collapse of more than 9,000 buildings.

The storms that began Nov. 9, has led to the heaviest snowfall in the northern and central provinces of Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Shandong and Henan since record keeping began in the Communist state in 1949.

In the three days ending Thursday morning, the snow accumulation there reached 1.8 feet, the heaviest since 1955, the China Meteorological Administration said on Saturday.