BEIJING (Reuters) – Severe hailstorms lashed a city in northeastern China on Saturday, affecting some 7,000 hectares (17,000 acres) of farmland and causing an estimated loss of 200 million yuan ($28 million), state broadcaster CCTV reported on Sunday.
Hailstones swept Wafangdian in the northeastern province of Liaoning, CCTV reported. A village on its outskirts received 48.1 millimetres (1.8 inches) of rainfall in one hour, the highest across the province, the Liaoning Meteorological Service Centre said.
Heavy rains have battered crops in central China’s Henan province in recent days, where about one-third of the country’s wheat is grown. These losses may lead to rising grain imports into the world’s biggest wheat consumer.
On Friday, heavy rain hit parts of southwest China, including Guangxi, engulfing roads and partially submerging buildings.
China’s meteorological authorities on Sunday renewed a blue alert, the lowest of its four-tier warning system, for rainstorms in regions including Guangxi, Guangdong, Hainan, Henan and Hubei. Up to 120 millimetres (4.7 inches) of rain was expected in the northern part of Hainan province.
($1 = 7.1273 Chinese yuan renminbi)
(Reporting by Ellen Zhang and Martin Quin Pollard; William Mallard)
