Background Story

Direct economic losses are estimated to reach 67 billion yuan (S$13 billion), or 0.27 per cent of China's GDP last year.

This stems from damage inflicted on 14,207 businesses.

The final toll could exceed US$20 billion (S$27 billion), taking into account loss of production and tourism.

The direct losses to the scenic province's tourism sector are estimated to exceed 50 billion yuan - about half of its revenue last year of 122 billion yuan.