Heavy snow has troubled most of northeast China's Liaoning
Province since Saturday night, causing a major airport and
expressways to close.
According to the provincial expressway administration, major
roads have been closed since 5:00 AM on Sunday. But the expressway
from Shenyang, the provincial capital, to Dalian, an open coastal
city, and a section of the Shenyang-Dandong expressway are still
open to traffic. Thanks to the timely closure, no road accidents
due to the snow have been reported, the administration added.
Taoxian International Airport in Shenyang also closed on Sunday
morning. The snow has resulted in poor visibility, local sources
said.
It is the heaviest snowfall in Liaoning since the beginning of
winter, which interrupted a run of continuous warm weather, local
meteorologists said.
A total of 7,000 environmental sanitation workers have been
dispatched to remove the thick layer of snow on Shenyang's major
streets.
Jilin
Province, adjacent to Liaoning, has also been covered by heavy
snow since the early hours of Sunday.
The provincial meteorological bureau gave three warning signals
for heavy and extremely heavy snowfall, and forecast for them to
continue into Monday.
Since 8:00 AM on Sunday, the airport of the provincial capital,
Changchun, has been closed, together with the expressway linking
the city to Shenyang.
Major streets in Changchun are now blanketed with ice and snow,
which has slowed traffic, local sources said.
(Xinhua News Agency December 20, 2004)