WORLD
Heavy fog, rains disrupt traffic in several parts of China
Baku, January 16 (AZERTAC). Heavy fog and downpours continued to hit several parts of China on Sunday, stranding passengers at airports and forcing highways to close.
Over 1,500 passengers were stranded at the Hedong Airport in Yinchuan, capital of north China`s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, after flights were delayed due to low visibility.
Police closed five highways in the area Sunday morning and are restricting traffic on other highways in the province, as visibility has been reduced to as low as 5 meters in some areas, according to Ningxia`s traffic police department.
Thick fog late Saturday also led to the cancellation of 48 flights in Haikou, capital of south China`s island province of Hainan.
Over 4,000 passengers were stranded after ferry services were canceled at a Haikou port at 11 p.m. Saturday.
The city was still shrouded in heavy fog on Sunday, with visibility reduced to less than 100 meters.
Passenger services at the Qiongzhou Strait between Hainan and the mainland were suspended for several hours between late Saturday and Sunday morning because of fog.
In south China`s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, a series of rain-triggered road accidents caused a traffic jam stretching over 40 km on a state road in the city of Hechi, local traffic police said.
The Spring Festival holiday travel rush has also been partly blamed for the traffic jam.
The Spring Festival, which begins on Jan. 23 this year, is China`s most important holiday, with hundreds of millions of people traveling to their hometowns for family reunions.
Downpours are expected to continue in most parts of south China for the next 24 hours, the National Meteorological Center said on Sunday.
Heavy rains will batter eastern Guangxi and several regions in Guangdong, Jiangxi and Fujian provinces, the center said in a statement.