While we are in raptures about the beauty of snow-covered mountain peaks and forests, the freak snowstorm that has hit central and eastern parts of the country with such force has disrupted the lives of millions of people.

We seem to have been caught off-guard, not expecting the snowstorm and low temperatures to be so devastating -- water pipes have cracked in some cities, cutting off the supply of drinking water to thousands of residents. Heavy snow and frost have dragged down electricity lines, disrupting some major grids in central regions.

The havoc wreaked by this unexpectedly heavy snowfall poses not only a challenge to our ability to maintain the normal operation of public utilities in the affected cities and regions, but also a challenge to our public transport system, which is expected to carry hundreds of millions of passengers home to celebrate the coming Spring Festival.

Over the past several decades, governments at various levels were supposed to have set up contingency mechanisms that could be mobilized to deal with natural disasters like this snowstorm.

Given this, the governments in the affected cities or areas should not only do their best to alleviate the inconvenience and losses that local residents have suffered, but also identify the weak points in their contingency mechanisms so that they can do a better job when facing similar contingencies in the future.

The railway system undoubtedly bears the biggest responsibility for Spring Festival transport, especially now that many of the highways and expressways in a dozen or so provinces have been closed because of heavy snow and frost. One million more passengers have poured into railway stations during each of the past couple days.

Railway departments must increase the number of trains on the routes leading to the affected cities, but precautions must be taken to guarantee the trains are running safely.

The meteorological department predicts another heavy snowstorm next week, which will certainly add to the already strained public utilities in the affected cities in eastern and central provinces and place more pressure on the overburdened railway system.

Spring Festival is around the corner. Local governments in the affected areas must not forget to take care of those passengers who find themselves temporarily stranded by snowstorms at railway and coach stations and airports.

(China Daily January 24, 2008)