RAWALPINDI: Heavy rain lashed the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad on Saturday bringing a pleasant change to the hot weather but at the same time inundating low-lying areas of the downtown areas.

The rain started in the evening and continued for more than two hours varying from light to heavy intensity.

Rainwater accumulated at Committee Chowk underpass in Rawalpindi and the road was closed for traffic.

The civic body installed water sucking machines at the underpass and on other main roads to drain out the water.

The Meteorological Department recorded 20 millimetres (mm) of rainfall at Chaklala, 20mm at Shamsabad in Rawalpindi and 29mm at Zero Point, 18mm at Bokra, 40mm at Saidpur, 29mm at Golra and 14mm at the airport in Islamabad and forecast more rains during the next 24 hours.

It said moist currents were penetrating upper parts of the country while a westerly wave was affecting western/upper parts of the country.

`Partly cloudy weather is expected in most upper parts of the country with rain-wind/thunderstorm in upper Punjab, Kashmir, upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Islamabad and Gilgit-Baltistan. Hot and dry weather is likely to prevail elsewhere in the country,` it said.