“Spring” Blizzard Shuts Down Schools and Businesses.

An abrupt “March blizzard” hit the middle region of the country hard on March 5 and created a “ground transportation hell” by disrupting highway traffic and delaying trains.

Schools and colleges in Daejeon, North and South Chungcheong Provinces were closed. In the city of Cheongju, about 9,000 households were left without water and power.

The heavy snow also knocked down greenhouses, cattle sheds, as well as ginseng and mushroom huts.

Traffic Crippled--

As snow shut down the highways, automobiles began to clog local roads. Local Road 927 in Yecheon County, North Gyeongsang Province and Local Road 920 in Yeongyang County were closed. A six-kilometer stretch of Local Road 25 was closed.

Trains and airplanes were interrupted. A Seoul-bound Moogoonghwa train from Daejeon was delayed by 30 minutes as snow completely covered the railroads. About 20 train services were delayed by 10 to 20 minutes.

Twelve airline services shuttling between Cheongju and Jeju were cancelled.

Schools Closed--

A total of 1,126 schools -- 250 schools in Daejeon, 372 schools in South Chungcheong province, 372 schools in North Chungcheong province – will be closed until March 6. About 16 schools in Boeun county, the hardest hit, are closed until further notice. Mokwon University and Woosong University as well as other colleges and universities in the Daejeon area were closed.

The Office of Education in Daejoen rescheduled a test to select gifted children for the academic year 2004 for March 13

Agrarian Produces Hit Hard--

About 10 a.m. on March 5, a cattle shed of 100 milking cows collapsed, weighed down by accumulated snow. A total of about 10 cattle sheds were destroyed.

Five vegetable greenhouses, or a total of about 2,000 square meters, in the city of Chungju collapsed. Most ginseng houses in Geumsan and Jincheon have broken down.

Power Failed--

About 9,700 households were left without power between 6:52 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. in Sachang-dong, Sanseong-dong in Cheongju.

The power failure at the Jibuk water purification facility left residents in the elevated areas of Wooahn-dong, Cheongju without water.

Daejeon Urban Development Corp. suspended garbage pickups as heavy snow shut down the roads.

At 8 a.m. on March 5, parts of the ceiling of a bowling alley collapsed in Daejeon, weighed down by heavy snow. About 495 square meters of the rink’s light metal 999-square-meter ceiling were brought down, causing 1.2 billion won in damages.

At Cheongju Zoo, snow tore the ceiling of a mesh birdcage for 100 birds of about 20 kinds. The city has started an emergency repair.

National Natural Monument Hit Hard--

The Pine Tree with An Assistant Minister-Level Title, National Natural Monument 103, and the Minister Wife Pine Tree, 352, lost about 10 branches, weighed down by heavy snow. Three branches, including a l15-by-370-centimeter branch and a 5-by-50-or-60-centimer brenchlet, fell off from the minister-level tree as a large amount of snow accumulated on them, Songni Mountain National Park Office said on March 5

The Minister Wife Pine Tree in Boeun County also lost a 10-meter-long and nine one-meter-long branches.