A rare-seen snow disaster attacked Hengyang in January 2008, causing serious mtluence to the people's life and production. It has become an important issue for people to assess the loss caused by the snow disaster, to study formation mechanism of the disaster, and to look for countermeasures against snow disasters in Hengyang. In the article, a comprehensive disaster index is introduced, the losses caused by 1998 flood and those by 2008 snow disaster are analyzed and compared. The conclusion is 2008 snow disaster is more serious than 1998 floo...