China Earthquake Inflicts $75 Million Loss On Hardest-Hit Region

(Bloomberg) -- China’s worst earthquake since 2014 has caused a direct economic loss of 532 million yuan ($74.6 million) for a northwestern province that hosts the epicenter, the country’s state broadcaster reported Saturday. 

Preliminary estimates by officials from the province of Gansu show that the natural disaster inflicted losses that include 345 million yuan on animal husbandry and 102 million yuan on crop production, China Central Television said. 

The assessment of the financial damage from Monday’s 6.2-magnitude earthquake came as the official Xinhua News Agency reported that it had killed 148 people and injured 781 as of Friday. On a visit to the affected regions Saturday, Chinese Premier Li Qiang urged local officials to release information on disaster relief in a timely manner and actively respond to people’s concerns.

The earthquake is set to further burden the finances of Gansu, an underdeveloped province whose economic output ranked 27th out of 31 Chinese provinces and municipalities as of 2022.

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