Blizzard batters traffic in NE China

HARBIN - Traffic in northeast China's Heilongjiang and Jilin provinces has been severely affected as a blizzard since Saturday forced expressways to close and could further delay flights.

Snow accumulated on the ground was as thick as over 10 cm on Sunday in many regions in Heilongjiang, including the provincial capital Harbin, according to the provincial meteorological station, which predicted that the heavy snow will last until Tuesday in some regions.

Several expressways within the province have been closed. Harbin's Taiping International Airport, though still in operation, has issued a yellow alert for flight delaying as the visibility dropped below 500 meters on Sunday morning.

Heavy snow also blanketed Jilin province with several expressways closed.

Local meteorological station issued an orange alert for heavy snow Sunday morning. It said eastern part of Jilin is expected to see continuous heavy snow within the next 24 hours.

China's top meteorological authority on Sunday continued to warn of prolonged heavy snow in the northeastern region.

The National Meteorological Center (NMC) issued a yellow alert for blizzards on Sunday morning, the second straight day such an alert has been announced.

From Sunday to Monday, heavy snow and strong wind will hit Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning, with the layer of snow on the ground as thick as 20 cm in some regions, the NMC said.

Snow will continue to move eastward on Monday, the NMC forecast, adding it will abate significantly on Tuesday.

China's meteorological disaster alerts are categorized as blue, yellow, orange and red as the severity of disasters ascends.