BEIJING, July 2 (RIA Novosti) - Direct economic losses from China's May 12 earthquake have exceeded one trillion yuan (around $150 billion), the People's Daily newspaper cited an official in the worst-hit province as saying on Wednesday.
Sichuan Province Deputy Governor Huang Xiaoxiang briefed a U.S. delegation on the damage.
The earthquake, the most severe to hit China in three decades, measuring 8.0 on the Richter scale, killed around 70,000 people and displaced nearly 10 million.
Chinese authorities earlier estimated economic losses at 70 billion yuan ($10 billion).
The quake left over 16,000 commercial firms completely destroyed, making 372,000 city dwellers jobless only in the southwest province of Sichuan. It also caused around $6 billion in damages to agriculture.
