The direct economic loss from a hail-rain storm that hit Qingyang City, northwestern Gansu Province, on Monday was estimated at 250 million yuan (US$30 million), local authorities reported. Crops worth 232 million yuan were destroyed in the storm that lasted nearly three hours late on Monday. Hailstones, with a diameter of up to 7.5 centimeters, pummeled the city for about 20 minutes.