Downpour overwhelms drainage system in Beijing, stalls traffic

Hailstorms and downpours that hit downtown Beijing on Friday night have once again overwhelmed the city's drainage system, leaving excess water sloshing above ground.

Beijing's drainage system was once again put to test by hailstones and strong winds on Friday night. The city's meteorological bureau estimated precipitation of over 30 mm around 10 p.m.

Water halted traffic in parts of downtown Beijing. Cars were stalled on the road while others plowed difficultly through torrents of rain water in the streets.

The eastern part of the city was the most battered as precipitation reached the highest at 84.2 mm in the northeast. Some suburbs also saw torrential rain.

The city lost more than 70 lives in its worst downpour in six decades in July 2012. Rainwater flooded streets and roads, grounded flights and trains and triggered landslides in the city's suburban district Fangshan.

The sudden storm on Friday also led to a groundswell in demand for car rides. Data from online taxi-hailing app developer Didi Kuaidi showed demand for rides between 7 to 8 p.m. was 56.2 percent up on the previous day. However, the number of people who actually found a ride only edged up 7.5 percent. Endi