The Office of the National Disaster Prevention, Reduction and Relief Committee and the Department of Emergency Management are making every effort to prevent and respond to low-temperature rain, snow and freezing disasters. According to the latest disaster risk situation analysis and judgment, based on the initial launch of Level IV emergency response to low-temperature rain, snow and freezing disasters in seven provinces including Hebei, Shanxi, Jiangsu, Shandong, Henan, Hubei, and Shaanxi, at 18:00 on February 1, Anhui and Hunan Four provinces, Chongqing and Guizhou, launched Level IV emergency response and expanded the response scope to 11 provinces. On the same day, an additional working group was dispatched to Anhui to assist and guide the prevention and response work.
The Office of the National Disaster Prevention, Reduction, and Relief Committee and the Ministry of Emergency Management increased the frequency of consultations and dispatches, and jointly analyzed and judged the rain, snow, and freezing weather conditions with the China Meteorological Administration, and conducted point-to-point dispatches in key provinces to deploy prevention and response work in a targeted manner. Relevant provinces are required to effectively improve their ideological understanding, further strengthen overall coordination, give full play to the joint efforts of departments, and jointly carry out prevention and response work. It is necessary to make ensuring the safety of Spring Festival transportation the current focus of work, and implement detailed measures such as operation monitoring, snow clearing and ice removal, management and control diversion of mountainous roads, bridges and tunnels and other key sections to ensure safety and smoothness. We must attach great importance to the harm of freezing rain to electricity, communications and other infrastructure, closely monitor freezing rain falling areas, strengthen monitoring and inspections, remove and melt ice in a timely manner, and minimize the adverse effects of extreme weather. It is necessary to strengthen the prevention and response of secondary disasters, the investigation of hidden risks, strengthen the pre-positioning of forces, materials, equipment, etc., and carry out efficient rescue and disaster relief to ensure that the people are safe and warm through the winter.
It is expected that from February 1st to 5th, there will be snowfall in the eastern part of Northwest China, North China, Northeast China, and northern Huanghuai, and there will be snowfall in central and southern Huanghuai, Jianghan, western and northern Jianghuai, northwest Hunan, central and northern Guizhou, and northern and eastern Chongqing. Rain turns to sleet or snow, with moderate to heavy snowfall in most of the above-mentioned areas, blizzards in some areas, and local heavy blizzards or extremely heavy blizzards. There is freezing rain in parts of central and northern Anhui, northern Jiangsu, central and northern Hunan, eastern Guizhou, and southeastern Chongqing. At 18:00 on February 1, the Central Meteorological Observatory issued a yellow snow warning and an orange freezing warning.