Highways, schools remain closed in N China

Highways and schools remained closed on Tuesday in northeast China's Heilongjiang and Jilin provinces as snowstorms continued to cause havoc.

All highways in Heilongjiang were forced to close on Tuesday morning due to snow and sleet since Sunday, local transportation authorities said. In Jilin, schools were urged to remain closed until Wednesday.

Major highways linking Harbin and other cities in Heilongjiang including Mudanjiang, Daqing and Yichun have been closed since 7:30 p.m. Monday night.

The Hatong Highway linking Harbin and Tongjiang closed at 4:30 p.m. on Monday. Traffic police officers have been patroling in case of accidents.

Cui Yang, an official with the Harbin Highway Transport Terminal, told Xinhua that heavy snow left 400 coaches stranded on Monday. More coaches will be left stranded on Tuesday, he said.

Flight services at the Harbin Taiping International Airport have not been affected.

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

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

Traffic authorities in Changchun, capital of Jilin, 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 National Meteorological Center issued a blue warning for further snowstorms in Jilin, Heilongjiang and the northwestern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on Tuesday morning.

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