国内英语新闻:Chinese premier visits blizzard-hit province to oversee rescue work

Wen also visited a heating company and a supermarket in Shijiazhuang, as well as the city's police headquarters.

    The safety of school buildings in primary and middle schools should be of great concern, he said.

    Heavy snow and blizzards had been reported in central Shaanxi, central and southern parts of Shanxi and Hebei, northern and western parts of Henan, and in northwestern Hubei and Shandong Provinces since Nov. 8.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (C, front) inspects the supplies of commodities at a supermarket in Shijiazhuang, capital of north China's Hebei Province, Nov. 12, 2009.

It was the heaviest snowfall in Shijiazhuang since 1955 when the city began to make meteorological records.

    According to the Ministry of Public Security, more than 25,000 police officers and over 15,000 patrol vehicles in Hebei, Shandong, and Henan, three worst-hit provinces by the snow, had been mobilized to clear snow from the roads and to ease traffic congestion by Thursday noon.

    Traffic in the above regions have basically resumed function so far, but the snow still caused a number of deadly traffic accidents and highway closures, and had left tens of thousands of people stranded at major airports and expressways.

    In Hebei, thousands of vehicles stretching more than three kilometers were jammed on the Shijiazhuang-Taiyuan expressway on Thursday night.

    The Ministry of Public Security and Ministry of Civil Affairs have ordered local government officials to provide food, water, blankets and clothes to all stranded passengers.

    Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education on Thursday also warned relevant departments to guard against possible accidents that might result from the unfavorable weather conditions.

    Four children had died and 35 injured when two school canteens in northern China collapsed in heavy snow since Wednesday.

    The education ministry called on local schools to look out for fire, traffic accidents and gas poisoning, as many parts of the country still used coal-fueled furnaces for heating.

    They should also guard against on-campus mass infection of the A/H1N1 flu, and could postpone or suspend school if necessary, the ministry said.