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| A woman looks out through a mist covered bus window in Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, April 13, 2010. Heilongjiang Province issued blue alarm of snow and yellow alarm of road ice on Monday. (Xinhua/Wang Jianwei) |
HARBIN, April 13 (Xinhua) -- The capital city of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province was hit by the biggest snowstorm of the year on Tuesday, with roads and air traffic disrupted and schools closed.
Meteorological authorities in Harbin issued the first snowstorm red alert of this year early Tuesday morning, saying the snow would continue with precipitation of 15 millimeters over six hours.
Yuan Meiying, chief weather forecaster with the provincial meteorological station, said the snowstorm starting Monday had hit 17 counties and cities in the province.
Harbin was among the worst hit, with 28 millimeters of precipitation falling from 8 a.m. Monday to 8 a.m Tuesday.
The municipal education bureau issued an urgent notice on Tuesday morning ordering the closure of primary and middle schools for Wednesday. However, many schools in Harbin had already closed voluntarily Tuesday morning.
"So far, only schools in Harbin were closed. The provincial education bureau has allowed storm-hit cities like Jiamusi, Suihua, Hegang and Yichun to make an independent decision about canceling classes if necessary," said Han Yanping, an official with the provincial education bureau.
Schools in rural areas should pay closer attention to prevent houses from collapsing and students from getting trapped in ditches, he said.
The Taiping International Airport in Harbin has been closed since 5:30 p.m. Monday, stranding over 2,400 passengers, said Li Feng, spokesman with the airport command and rescue center.
He said 23 flights had been canceled and another 53 delayed as of noon Tuesday.
"The continuing snowfall accompanied with a strong gale made it difficult to clear the snow. The runways are still icy and visibility is low. It is still unknown when the airport can be reopened," he said.
Besides the air traffic, five train trips from Harbin Railway Station were canceled and 39 others were delayed by Tuesday noon.
"The railway station has made an all-out effort to clear snow from Monday night and reinforced security," said Li Xiaodong, deputy director of the station.
Sevens highways were forced to close. Public transportation from Harbin to Vladivostok, Russia's largest port city, were suspended Tuesday, and the time that services would resume was yet to be decided.
The city government mobilized more than 13,000 people with 1,400 vehicles to clear snow from highways and downtown streets.
According to the China Central Meteorological Station, the snow also hit northern provinces and regions like Jilin and Liaoning provinces and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
Agriculture experts said the snow would affect spring sowing in Jilin and Heilongjiang, China's major grain producers.
In Jilin's Yushu City, which produces 2.5 billion kilograms of grain annually, the heavy snow and low temperature had delayed spring ploughing by 10 days, said Li Guoqiang, secretary of the city committee of the Communist Party of China.
