Hunan province has been hit by a rare blizzard in recent days, which has brought huge frost damage to local crops. According to the report of the meteorological department, the blizzard was particularly severe in central and southern Hunan regions, among which Changsha, Zhuzhou and other places suffered heavy snowstorms, and 13 counties and cities were affected. Up to now, there are 23 counties and cities in the province with a snow depth of more than 10 centimeters, and Xinhua County has reached a snow depth of 29 centimeters, setting a historical record. This sudden blizzard caused huge disasters in Hunan Province. According to preliminary statistics, more than 10,000 people have been affected by the disaster of varying degrees, and the area of crops affected has reached 4,800 hectares. Some vegetables grown in the open air were frozen and damaged, while vegetables grown in greenhouses could not be salvaged due to the collapse of the scaffolding. Growers of citrus and other fruit trees have also suffered heavy losses, with more than 70% of citrus being frozen and damaged. Although the impact of this blizzard was less severe than the 2008 snowstorm, it still caused serious economic damage.
From February 1 to 6, Hubei Province suffered the most powerful cold wave, low temperature, rain, snow and freezing weather in recent years. In particular, from February 2 to 4, moderate to heavy snow occurred in northwest Hubei Province, and the snow depth was generally 5-10 cm. As of 19:00 on February 5, there were 151 in 16 cities and 66 counties in Hubei Province80,000 people were affected, 115 houses were damaged, 2.03 million acres of crops were damaged, and the economic loss reached 20800 million yuan. The hardest hit was in the Jingmen area of Jingzhou, where a large number of poultry houses and agricultural facilities collapsed, and poultry died more and suffered heavy losses.
Due to the impact of heavy snowfall and freezing rain, many farmers in Hunan and Hubei have suffered huge losses, especially citrus fruit trees and poultry houses. Citrus fruit trees have been hit hard by snow and ice, and growers have suffered heavy losses, with some trees being damaged by more than 70% of the frost. Similarly, poultry houses have suffered severe damage, with many collapsing and flocks suffering heavy losses. Farmers have made difficult decisions between salvage and loss, and some have forgone the rescue in favor of directly cleaning up frozen crops and livestock to reduce losses. The disaster has seriously affected the income and livelihood of local farmers, bringing them great difficulties and challenges.
In the face of the damage to crops and the difficulties in farmers' lives, Hunan and Hubei provinces quickly launched disaster relief measures, organized emergency repairs of agricultural facilities, and strengthened post-disaster repair and reconstruction work. At the same time, a subsidy policy has also been introduced to reduce the burden on farmers and help them tide over the difficulties. Relevant departments were also organized to assess the damage of crops and livestock in the affected areas and provide corresponding compensation to farmers. **We also mobilize social forces through various channels to provide donations and assistance to disaster-stricken areas.
Overall, the catastrophic snowstorms in Hunan and Hubei provinces have caused huge losses to local farmers and crops. ** Active measures are being taken to rescue the affected areas and help farmers tide over the difficulties. However, in the post-disaster reconstruction and recovery, more resources and support are still needed to help the affected areas resume normal production and life as soon as possible. At the same time, it is also necessary to strengthen meteorological monitoring and early warning capabilities, improve disaster prevention and mitigation capabilities, and reduce the impact of disasters on agriculture.