A city in northeastern China has been caught off-guard by a historic snowstorm that has blocked roads and left cars buried up to their wing mirrors, with experts warning of the risk of building collapses.

Heavy snowfall blanketed the northeastern province of Heilongjiang starting on Tuesday morning, with the city of Hegang near the Russian border hit particularly hard.

Hegang recorded its heaviest November snowfall over the following 24 hours, with 13 of the city’s 17 weather stations reporting “extreme blizzard” conditions.

By Wednesday, the snow was piled nearly half a meter deep in some areas.

Cars parked inside local residential communities were almost entirely submerged, with only their wing mirrors visible. The icy conditions had led to some minor collisions on the roads, a local homestay owner told domestic media.

“You have to dig out the snow to find your license plate,” the person said. “But even then, you can’t drive it anywhere, so people just leave them there.”

Local authorities have launched a frenzied effort to clear the snow, with 33 stretches of highway in Heilongjiang province reportedly still closed as of Thursday afternoon.

Hegang alone has mobilized more than 5,800 workers and 1,100 snow machines to unblock its streets. In some areas, local sanitation workers have worked for more than 30 hours without a break, according to domestic media reports.

Fei Lianghao, a 27-year-old resident of Qiqihar, a city west of Hegang, told Sixth Tone on Wednesday that the snow was still calf-deep in parts of her neighborhood. Several items she had ordered online had been delayed by more than three days.

“This year’s first snowfall was heavier than expected,” she said. “In previous years, snow this heavy would typically come around mid-December.”

Lu Jiatai, a 25-year-old from Harbin, the capital of Heilongjiang province, also said that the recent snowstorm felt “abnormal,” though the snow in Harbin caused little disruption, apart from some temporary school closures.

No casualties or major disasters have so far been reported in Heilongjiang, and electricity, water, and heating supplies in the region remain unaffected.

But experts have warned that there is a heightened risk of buildings suffering structural damage or even collapsing under the weight of the snow, as recent warm and humid air flows have made the snow particularly wet and heavy.

The snowfall in northeastern China this year has been unusually prolonged and intense, according to Huo Yunyi, an analyst at the Central Meteorological Observatory.

Heavy to extreme snowstorms in central and northern Heilongjiang are rare at this time of year, said Li Ning, an analyst at the China Weather Network.

The snow eased up in most parts of Heilongjiang on Thursday, but moderate to heavy snowfall is predicted to continue across the region for the next two days.

By Saturday, the weather is expected to clear up in most of the province, but the snow could return on Sunday due to the arrival of another cold weather front.

(Header image: Cars covered by snow in Harbin, Heilongjiang province, Nov 28, 2024. VCG)