Freezing Rain Hits Guizhou Province, China

A continuous round of freezing rain in Xifeng County, Guizhou Province has made life difficult for locals by cutting off water supplies.

Gaofeng village is situated at more than 3900 feet above sea level, the highest in Xifeng County's Shitong Township, so freezing temperatures are nothing new here.

But for 84-year old villager Zhu Shaohua, all of the water in his two supply buckets has frozen. Water would not flow out from Zhu's tap even after he warmed the pipes with hot water. So he’s forced to walk to the local village water station almost a mile away.

[Zhu Shaohua, Local]:
"It takes me almost an hour to fetch the water, but what I bring back is only enough for one day."

In Gaofeng village, heavy snow and freezing rain began last week, destroying crops and covering electric lines with thick ice.

The freezing rain usually lasts until mid-February.