Snowstorms affect 7,500 people in NE China

Snowstorms in recent days have affected road traffic and caused difficulties to local people in northeast China.

The snowstorms from Sunday to Tuesday have affected more than 7,500 residents in Hegang and Shuangyashan cities in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. The snowstorms also flattened 170 houses and suspended local bus service, local government officials said.

The snowstorms also damaged 33,000 hectares of trees and more than 2,200 hectares of crops in the two cities.

All expressways in Heilongjiang were forced to close on Tuesday morning due to heavy snow, local transportation authorities said.

Major expressways linking Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang Province, and other cities in the province, including Mudanjiang, Daqing and Yichun, have been closed since 7:30 p.m. Monday.

Traffic police have been patrolling in case of emergencies.

Cui Yang, an official with the Harbin Highway Transport Terminal, told Xinhua that heavy snow left 400 coaches stranded on Monday and more coaches might be stranded on Tuesday as the snow continues.

More than 7,000 sanitation workers have been mobilized to clear the roads, and 500 snow-sweepers have been dispatched to remove snow and mud from major streets in Harbin, according to the city's urban management bureau.

Flight services at Harbin Taiping International Airport remained normal.

In neighboring Jilin Province, education authorities have urged schools and kindergartens in mountainous and semi-mountainous areas to remain closed until Wednesday.

The provincial education department asked primary and middle schools, as well as kindergartens in plain areas to stop or reschedule classes according to the weather conditions until Wednesday. Headmasters should regularly contact students at home to ensure their safety.

Traffic authorities in Changchun, capital of Jilin Province, have increased the number of buses on the streets to alleviate the transport situation.

The Changchun municipal government asked the local meteorological observatory to monitor weather conditions and provide timely weather information to residents.

The snowstorms have led to hikes of the prices of 80 percent of vegetables in Changchun, with the highest being over 20 percent, according to the Changchun Municipal Price Supervision and Inspection Bureau.

Price rises are likely to continue, as ice-covered roads have made transportation in Jilin difficult, reducing supply of vegetables, a local pricing official said.

Transportation authorities at all levels in the province have promised to provide timely weather information to residents via radios, televisions, the Internet and text messages.

Although transportation on all expressways in Jilin had resumed as of 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, coaches, trucks and vehicles loaded with chemicals and dangerous articles are still under temporary traffic control.

Flight services in the Changchun Longjia Airport had remained normal as of Tuesday afternoon.

China's National Meteorological Center issued a blue warning for further snowstorms in Jilin, Heilongjiang and northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on Tuesday morning.

China has a four-color-coded warning system for its weather forecast, with red being the most serious, followed by orange, yellow and blue.

The observatory said that snowstorms had started to weaken in northeast China but some parts of the region can still expect heavy snow.