Camel towing car
© YouTube/Мир 24 (screen capture)

Authorities in the Kazakh capital have declared a state of emergency after a winter storm pummeled the city with strong winds and heavy snowfall.

Transportation links to and from Nur-Sultan were cut on January 27, while all schools in the capital remained closed.

The spokesman for Nur-Sultan International Airport, Zhenis Akhmetzhanov, told reporters that all flights were postponed for an unknown period of time for safety reasons.

Nur-Sultan's emergencies department called on residents not to leave the capital before the state of emergency is lifted.

Dozens of highways across the Central Asian country have been closed due to winter storms.