Blackouts, school closures as snowstorms hit NE China (2)

The Xinjieji area of the city's Gongnong district and the No. 1 Middle School in Hegang have had no water since early Monday. Blackouts have also brought public transportation to a halt.

The Hegang municipal government has earmarked 10 million yuan (about 1.58 million U.S. dollars) for disaster relief.

Highways and schools have been forced to close in Heilongjiang by the snowstorms.

Continuous snows have caused the closure of at least two highways in the province: one linking Heilongjiang's capital of Harbin with the city of Tongjiang and the other linking the cities of Hegang and Jiamusi, stranding vehicles and passengers.

The snowstorms have prompted provincial authorities to issue an orange alert -- the second-highest alert level in China's four-tier color-coded weather warning system -- for Hegang and Jiamusi.

Traffic authorities in Harbin have warned that more vehicles will be stranded, as more snowstorms are expected.