. | . |
NZealand quake cost heavier than Japan's: IMF Washington (AFP) May 9, 2011 The earthquakes that struck New Zealand in September and February will eat up about 7.5 percent its GDP, more than the cost of the recent disaster in Japan on Tokyo's economy, the IMF said Monday. The International Monetary Fund estimated that rebuilding after the Christchurch quakes will cost about 15 billion New Zealand dollars ($11.9 billion), a heavier burden on the national economy than Japan's 1995 Kobe quake and Chile's huge temblor last year. "While the scale of damage from the recent Japan earthquake is still uncertain, it is likely to be less than the Canterbury earthquakes as a percent of GDP," or gross domestic product, the IMF said. New Zealand's second largest city Christchurch was devastated by a 6.3-magnitude quake in February, which claimed 181 lives and followed a more powerful but less destructive 7.1 quake in September. IMF economists said the quakes would wipe about two percentage points of economic growth this year, and the economy would only grow by about one percent. "The earthquakes destroyed assets equal to about 2-3 percent of the nation's productive capital stock, and will have temporarily reduced potential output," it said. "The earthquakes have caused substantial damage and hurt confidence," the IMF's annual report on the New Zealand economy said. "Large uncertainty surrounds the economic outlook, particularly related to the size and timing of reconstruction from the earthquakes." It also warned that economic risks were "tilted to the downside", especially if emerging Asia's strong demand for commodities falters, and long-term interest rates rise. But it said that reconstruction work, once it gets underway, will push growth up to four percent next year. The IMF also said the local dollar was "moderately" overvalued and that housing also appeared significantly overpriced.
Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters A world of storm and tempest When the Earth Quakes
Clearing Japan tsunami homes, one shovel at a time Ishinomaki, Japan (AFP) May 9, 2011 It oozes and reeks and sometimes it shimmers in oily rainbow colours. Millions of tonnes of putrid mud now fill every nook and cranny of Japan's tsunami disaster zone. Volunteers who have spent weekends shovelling it out of survivors' half-wrecked homes have developed an intimate relationship with the muck that soils their overalls, gloves and workboots. "It looks like layered chocolate ... read more |
|
The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2010 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |