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BEIJING, China (AP) -- Heavy fog fell over parts of central China Sunday, further clogging a transport system already paralyzed by weeks of snow, a day after a stampede by frustrated train passengers stranded for days in southern China killed one.

The weather -- the country's worst in five decades -- has paralyzed China's densely populated central and eastern regions just as tens of millions of travelers were seeking to board trains and buses to return home for this month's Lunar New Year.

The fog covered parts of Hunan -- one of the provinces hit worst by the freak winter storms -- delaying flights and bringing road traffic to a standstill, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

In the capital city of Changsha, visibility was reduced to 50 meters (yards) on Sunday. Parts of Hunan have already been without electricity for days and people have been stranded in cars on icy highways and at snow and wind-swept train stations.

The provincial weather bureau has also forecast more snow for Monday and Tuesday.

On Saturday, the government said the snow crisis "remains grim" and warned the public to brace for more bad weather after storms that have killed at least 60 people.

"The most difficult period is still not over yet. The situation remains grim," said a Chinese cabinet statement reported by state media. More snow and sleet were forecast across China's south, where storms have destroyed crops, knocked out power and disrupted trains and trucking.

Damage has been reported at 53.8 billion yuan (US$7.5 billion; euro5 billion). The cabinet statement promised to ensure food and medical supplies for hundreds of thousands of stranded travelers, many of them migrant workers trying to get home for this week's Lunar New Year, China's most important family holiday.

Regions hit by the storms provide the bulk of China's winter fruit and vegetables, and Chen Xiwen, a top agricultural official, said Thursday the impact of the weather on produce in some places had been "catastrophic."

The transport delays have also caused a severe coal shortage, and the government has said the railways would focus on delivering coal and restoring the capacity of trunk lines over the next 10 days. The shortage of coal, used to fuel three-quarters of China's electricity supply, caused widespread blackouts.

Huge cities have plunged into darkness, with parts of Chenzhou, a city of 1.2 million in central Hunan province, without power for eight days.

Photos posted on the Xinhua News Agency's Web site and taken Thursday night showed blocks of buildings plunged into darkness, their rooftops covered in snow. The only lights were those of trucks on the street.

State-run radio said Chenzhou was like a "deserted island," with its shops closed and goods scarce. Fire trucks were distributing water to residents because pumps stopped working, China Central Television said. It said reserves of diesel fuel in the city would run out in seven days and rice in five.

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