Around China: Unusual heavy snow overwhelms northern grassland (2)

Herdsman Wang Jila said livestock have had nothing to eat once the iron disaster hit because the grass is frozen in the ice.

Wang has more than 100 sheep but they are suffering from a lack of food.

Local meteorological experts said parts of Xilin Gol League has more than 30 centimeters of snow and more than 90 percent of forage grass is covered.

Statistics from the regional local government said the snow disaster has affected more than 8.39 million people and 59.54 million livestock, and caused direct economic losses of more than 600 million yuan (96.2 million U.S. dollars).

Heavy snow has also disrupted traffic.

In Xilin Gol League, 73-year-old farmer Zhang Lanhua and his wife are forced to ride a donkey cart to the hospital in the town. Zhang's wife is sick and the shuttle bus service has stopped due to the weather.

We Recommend:
Photos: Most touching loves in 2012	Snow brings joy to severe winter	Make wishes as end of Mayan calendar nears
Nanjing Massacre victims remembered	China's weekly story (2012.12.10-12.15)	Tell the whole world how I love you
Residential building collapses in Ningbo	Day to remember as couples tie the knot	Chinese space probe flies by asteroid