Emergency measures adopted as China faces cold wave

Authorities across China have launched emergency response measures to guarantee the operation of transportation and ensure people's uninterrupted lives in response to the latest cold wave and snow.

On Sunday morning, China's National Meteorological Center renewed an orange alert for snow storms, the second-most severe level in its four-tier color-coded weather warning system, in some regions of the country. 

From Sunday morning to Monday morning, heavy snow will hit parts of Henan Province in central China, and Anhui, Jiangsu and Shandong provinces in eastern China. Also, freezing rain will hit parts of southwest China's Guizhou Province, central China's Hunan and Hubei provinces, and east China's Jiangxi and Anhui provinces during the period. 

Henan Province in central China maintained its yellow alert for blizzards in the morning, with expectations of heavy snowfall in cities like Zhoukou, Zhumadian, Nanyang and Xinyang.

In the province's Xuchang City, local traffic police authorities have intensified nighttime road inspections. They also provided essential supplies to drivers and passengers stranded in service areas and arranged the continuous operation of ice-melting and snow-removal vehicles.

Heavy snowfall hit parts of north China's Shanxi Province on Friday, causing snow and ice to accumulate on several highways. More than a dozen highways had to be temporarily closed.

In response, local highway maintenance department activated snow removal operations, while the traffic police employed police cars to guide stranded vehicles off the highways.

The province is expected to experience ongoing snowfall until Monday.

Hubei Province in central China also experienced snowfall due to the cold wave. In Shiyan City, certain sections of some uphill roads became icy, causing vehicles to skid. The traffic police promptly intervened and pushed the vehicles out of the slippery road.

A total of 39 passengers traveling on a bus were stranded in a mountainous area in Yichang City of the province due to heavy snow, and local police swiftly organized rescue operations to assist the stranded passengers.

China's Ministry of Emergency Management has sent several working groups to Anhui, Henan and Hubei, the worst-affected provinces, to guide the prevention of and response to disasters resulting from rain, snow and freezing conditions.