New round of snow closes north China expressways

 New round of snow closes north China expressways

CHANGCHUN/HOHHOT, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- 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 provincial¹ meteorological observatory² 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 Autonomous³ 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 consecutive⁴ 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 affected⁵ 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 sleet⁶, 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.

1 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

2 observatory   

n.天文台，气象台，瞭望台，观测台

参考例句：

• Guy's house was close to the observatory.盖伊的房子离天文台很近。
• Officials from Greenwich Observatory have the clock checked twice a day.格林威治天文台的职员们每天对大钟检查两次。

3 autonomous   

adj.自治的；独立的

参考例句：

• They proudly declared themselves part of a new autonomous province.他们自豪地宣布成为新自治省的一部分。
• This is a matter that comes within the jurisdiction of the autonomous region.这件事是属于自治区权限以内的事务。

4 consecutive   

adj.连续的，联贯的，始终一贯的

参考例句：

• It has rained for four consecutive days.已连续下了四天雨。
• The policy of our Party is consecutive.我党的政策始终如一。

5 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

6 sleet   

n.雨雪；v.下雨雪，下冰雹

参考例句：

• There was a great deal of sleet last night.昨夜雨夹雪下得真大。
• When winter comes,we get sleet and frost.冬天来到时我们这儿会有雨夹雪和霜冻。