Thai flood damage seen at US$320m

[BANGKOK] The floods in Thailand could cause economic damage of at least 11 billion baht (US$327 million) nationwide, with the losses likely to rise unless the situation improves, said Aat Pisanwanich of Rangsit University’s economics department.

“The flooding is expected to shave 0.3 percentage points off this year’s GDP growth, reducing growth to 2.1 per cent, and cut third-quarter growth by about 0.5 percentage points to 1.7 per cent,” he told Reuters.

South-east Asia’s second-largest economy, which has lagged regional peers since the Covid-19 pandemic, expanded 1.9 per cent year-on-year in the year’s second quarter, but that was still down sharply from the previous quarter’s growth of 2.8 per cent.

Bangkok and the eastern region are likely to take the brunt of the impact, particularly wholesale and retail businesses, while industry and agriculture will suffer elsewhere, Aat added.

Thousands sheltered in evacuation centres in the Thai capital, parts of it still flooded after havoc brought by intense weekend rain, while swelling reservoirs in an eastern province triggered orders for more to leave their homes.

Entire neighbourhoods were inundated and the drainage network swamped after 320 mm of rain fell during two or three days last week, or nearly as much as the sprawling low-lying city usually gets in all of September.

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“Over 80,000 residents living in flooded areas are unable to leave their homes,” Unsit Sampuntharat, the permanent secretary of the interior ministry, said in a statement, adding that mobile kitchen and boats were being mobilised in relief efforts.

“The goal is to provide three meals a day to all residents throughout the ... flooding period and for at least another seven after waters recede,” he added, amid intermittent showers on Monday.

Bangkok is among 41 provinces across Thailand hit by floods since September 16 that killed at least eight people and disrupted more than 580,000 homes, the ministry said. REUTERS