(ECNS) -- Recent floods across the nation are having "no small" impact on the economy, people's lives and the environment, said Sheng Laiyun, spokesperson for the National Bureau of Statistics.
It is clear that extreme weather events increased this year, but there's no data available yet about the exact fallout from natural disasters, he noted.
The NBS has urged local bureaus to enhance efforts to collect and monitor data on the impact of floods that ravaged 1,508 counties across 28 provinces and killed 237 people by Wednesday.
Sheng said some areas severely hit by floods have been affected in the short term, with increased prices for vegetables for instance, but that in the long run "these areas can recover relatively easily".
Vegetable supplies can be restored soon after floods recede, he added.
The country's GDP grew 6.7 percent year-on-year in the second quarter, according to NBS data. The figure, though the lowest quarterly rate since the global financial crisis, remained within the government's target of 6.5 to 7 percent for 2016.
