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Strong wind has closed all the three major highways of Tacheng city in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, leaving 4,000 passengers stranded, local authorities said late Thursday.
The wind, with speeds up to 100 km per hour, has delayed 310 buses since 10 a.m. Wednesday, said Wang Xinbao, director of the municipal department of transport.
It also drove the temperature to minus 20-34.8 degrees Celsius, Wang said, adding visibility on highways was reduced to nearly zero.
Blizzards and extreme cold since late December have disrupted transport, seriously threatened livestock and affected daily life in Xinjiang.
The latest cold snap in northern Xinjiang that sent the temperature to minus 45.7 degrees Celsius in Fuyun County has left at least four people dead and more than 600 injured in the whole region, incurring huge economic losses.
Xinjiang governments at all levels are trying to transport feed to Altay and Tacheng, where livestock have eaten half of the forage in stock.
The People's Liberation Army dispatched two helicopters Thursday, at the request of the autonomous regional government, to rescue 14 people trapped in a blizzard in Altay.
Disaster relief goods including quilts, tents and food had been provided by the central and regional governments and the Red Cross Society of China.
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