Beijing, Nov 13 (IANS) The toll has risen to 38 Friday amid China’s heaviest snowfall in the last 60 years, China Daily reported.
The storm brought up by the heavy snowfall hit the northern Chinese provinces of Hebei, Shanxi and Henan, with some regions affected by snow storms for the first time in a hundred years.

As of Friday, 38 people died in the freezing weather, which caused upheaval to millions of people, a chinanews.cn report said.

The heaviest snowfall since 1987 hit Xi’an, capital of Shanxi province Wednesday, resulting in the lowest temperature in the province during the past 22 years.

Liaocheng, in northwest Shangdong, was blanketed by the heaviest snowfall ever seen in the region. An average of 16.2 mm of snowfall occurred overall, with the lowest temperature plummeting to minus 4 degree Celsius.

In Shijiazhuang, capital of worst-hit Hebei province, six people died and 630,000 have been affected due to the severe weather. The direct economic loss has reached 419 million yuan ($59 million). Transportation there has been blocked, with many people stranded on their way.

Over 470 accidents occurred in Shanxi province from Monday to Wednesday, with a toll of 24 and injuries to 70 people, according to the reports.