Freezing weather and heavy snowstorms in China's far western Xinjiang since December have left 30 people dead and three missing, a local official said Saturday.

The snowstorms, the worst in six decades, also seriously affected 1.88 million people after houses collapsed and livestock were killed, Qian Zhi, deputy chairman of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, said at a conference on disaster relief.

The official estimated that economic losses could be as high as 2.66 billion yuan (US$389.4 million).

The disaster forced the evacuation of 188,000 residents, brought down 19,000 houses and damaged 128,000 more, Qian said. A total of 23,200 vegetable greenhouses were also damaged, delaying the supply of vegetables.

About 87,100 livestock died and 96,000 suffered from abortions because of the freezing weather, Qian added.

The official also cautioned that floods could be another big challenge this year after the snow melt in the spring and summer seasons.

(Xinhua News Agency March 7, 2010)