Senior leader Li Keqiang urged local authorities in Sichuan Province to act quickly and take intensified and concrete measures to fight the unprecedented bad winter weather.

Li, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), made an inspection tour to the southwest province from Jan. 30 to Feb. 2 to visit those affected by the snow and to direct disaster relief work. Since Jan. 11, northeast Sichuan has suffered the most serious ice and snow-incurred disasters since the founding of the New China in 1949. This has caused a severe impact on production and the lives of locals.

About 10.3 million residents, mainly in the mountainous and impoverished regions, were affected by the disaster by Friday noon.

Braving the snow, Li's tour covered more than 1,000 kilometers and took in villages, bus stations, markets and a power plant in the province's worst-hit areas, including Dazhou, Bazhong and Guang'an.

He stressed local Party committees and governments at various levels must regard disaster relief as the "most pressing task" and comprehensively carry out anti-disaster measures, ensuring smooth communications, transport and electricity supply as a priority.

(Xinhua News Agency February 3, 2008)