New round of snow closes north China expressways

Photo taken on Nov. 19, 2012 shows a warning board of snow in Changchun, capital of northeast China's Jilin Province. The local meteorological observatory issued a blue warning for further snowstorms on Monday. (Xinhua/Lin Hong)

Expressways in north China were forced to close on Friday after a new round of snow hit the region.

In northeast China, the Public Security Department of Jilin Province has stopped coaches, trucks and vehicles loaded with chemicals and dangerous articles from traveling along all expressways in the province as of 9 a.m.

Sections of the Shenji Expressway, linking Shenyang City in neighboring Liaoning Province and Jilin City in Jilin Province, have been put under temporary traffic control, according to the department.

The Jilin provincial meteorological observatory issued a blue warning for further snowstorms on Thursday afternoon.

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

In north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, snow has forced the closure of sections of 16 expressways including the Jingzang Expressway, which links Beijing and Lhasa, capital of Tibetan Autonomous Region.

On Friday morning, snowfall halted all bus services in Tongliao City in the region. In Chifeng City, buses and coaches have not been in operation for seven consecutive days because of the poor weather.

It is the third round of snowfall to hit Inner Mongolia this month.

By Thursday, the first two snowstorms had affected around 300,000 people in the region, according to the local government. The storms had resulted in the deaths of one people and 6,140 domestic animals, and damaged 9,941 hectares of crops.

The snowstorms have caused a total direct economic loss of 370 million yuan (about 59 million U.S. dollars).

Local meteorological authorities in Inner Mongolia said the weather will not clear up until Nov. 21.

In northeast China's Liaoning Province, the local meteorological observatory issued a blue warning for snowstorms at 10 a.m. Friday, saying that most parts of the province could meet more snow and sleet, with Fushun City and Benxi City expecting heavy snowstorms.

Snowfall has forced many expressways to close in Liaoning, and it is forecast to continue until Friday night, according to the observatory.

Authorities expect traffic to resume on the closed expressways on Friday night or Saturday morning.

Flights in the province have not been affected, with Shenyang Taoxian International Airport operating normally.