Blackouts, school closures as snowstorms hit NE China (3)

Flights and railway services in the city, which is expected to receive more snow over the next 12 hours, had not been affected as of Monday morning.

Heavy snows have also hit eastern Inner Mongolia since Friday, causing the closure of highways, schools and two local airports. Forty-four houses and more than 170 barns have collapsed, but no human casualties have been reported.

In Jilin province, where heavy snow fell late Sunday, traffic authorities have temporarily imposed traffic control measures on highways, as the frozen roads pose a potential danger to vehicles.

Education authorities in Jilin have urged schools and kindergartens in mountainous and semi-mountainous areas of the province to stop classes until the storms subside.

In an emergency notice issued on Monday, 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.