Authorities in China have said the devastation caused by Typhoon Saomai will have an insured cost in excess of $1.4bn.

The typhoon which ripped thorough the country was the most powerful storm to affect the region in half a century. It forced an estimated 1.7m to fell their homes and destroyed thousands of properties in its path.

The storm came at a time where talk over the formation of a state backed natural catastrophe fund were underway and the damage wrought by Saomai has only intensified the debate over the need for such a scheme.