Death toll have heavy snowstorm in Mongolia

Tag: Communication Power Supply

The death toll from a heavysnowstorm that swept across seven provinces in Mongolia since lastMonday rose to 52, authorities said Monday.

Fourteen children were among the dead and more than 130 yurts wereblown down, said the Mongolian General Authority for EmergencyManagement (GAEM).

It added that more than 200,000 livestock were frozen to death andanother 200,000 went astray in the snowstorm. The snowstorm hasalso caused damage to power supply and communication systems in theaffected areas.

Greater efforts are being made to restore power supply andcommunication, and reconstruction is underway after rescue andrelief efforts were completed, GAEM said.

As a country that depends heavily on livestock farming, some40percent of Mongolia's population live in pasture areas.Snowstorms are frequent in spring in the country.