BEIJING - China issued a severe weather warning Monday, fuelling fears of worsening power shortages, after the heaviest snowfalls in 50 years left hundreds of thousands stranded ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday.

The warning of severe snowstorms came after Premier Wen Jiabao called late Sunday for "urgent" action to combat blackouts and transport chaos as millions of Chinese struggle to return home for the country's biggest annual holiday.

At least a dozen people died at the weekend in weather-related accidents, according to state media, with thousands more injured as they headed home for the holiday.

Wen ordered local governments to minimise the human impact, but focused his attention on the impact on China's energy situation, with several provinces already rationing electricity.

"Due to the rain, snow, and frost, plus increased winter use of coal and electricity and the peak travel season, the job of ensuring coal, electricity and oil supplies and adequate transportation has become quite severe," Wen said at a Cabinet meeting.

He ordered local governments to ensure smooth distribution and output of coal and electricity, and conserve energy.

"More heavy snow is expected. All (government) departments must prepare for this increasingly grim situation and urgently take action," Wen said, according to a Cabinet statement.

The China Meteorological Administration warned that further heavy snows or freezing rain are expected in nine provinces where freezing weather over the past two weeks has crippled transportation and caused a power supply crunch.

Icy conditions forced seven airports to shut at the weekend, and the southern city of Guangzhou has been particularly hard-hit.

State media said the number of people stuck at the city's train station could swell to 600,000 on Monday after a power failure Saturday night stranded more than 136 electric trains in neighbouring Hunan province.

Due to icy roads, long-distance bus travel was largely curtailed for much of the last week in the areas hardest hit by the snowfall.

State television showed footage of thousands of motorists and long-distance truck drivers stranded on stretches of road as heavy snow brought traffic to a standstill. - AFP/ir