Rainfall and hailstones hit Beijing, cars flooded

Beijing suffered its heaviest rainstorm of the year on Wednesday, with some areas of the Chinese capital being battered by hail.

In Haidian district, 18 cars were flooded at an underpass. Witnesses said that the rain accumulated to about 2 meters high in about 20 minutes at the underpass, forcing car owners had to abandon their vehicles. No one was hurt in the flood. The water has since been drained, with traffic returning to normal.

In Yanqing county in northwest Beijing, hailstones as large as pingpong balls hit the area, causing damage to plants. Weather authorities said that no large rainstorms are forecast for Beijing in the coming days.