. Earth Science News .




.
DISASTER MANAGEMENT
SEAsia floods cost $6.3 bln in lost output: UN
by Staff Writers
Bangkok (AFP) Dec 9, 2011


Devastating floods have cost Southeast Asia $6.3 billion in lost production, adding to the pressure caused by the economic woes of the United States and Europe, the UN said Friday.

The inundation, which affected Cambodia, Laos, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, has triggered a "major supply shock" and curbed the region's gross domestic product by about 0.9 percent, the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) said in a statement.

Thailand is the world's second largest maker of hard disk drives so the floods could affect global notebook computer production in early 2012, it said.

Thai farms have also been severely affected, with about 7.0 percent of regional rice production and about 1.4 percent of global production damaged.

The UN agency predicted that growth in developing countries in the Asia-Pacific region would slow to 6.6 percent in 2012, from an estimated 7.2 percent this year.

"The Asia Pacific region is facing the challenge of coping with a sharp deterioration in the global economic environment," ESCAP chief economist Nagesh Kumar told a news conference.

"Despite the decline of course the Asia-Pacific region will continue to remain the most dynamic in the world," he added.

Thai economic growth is expected to rebound to 4.5 percent next year thanks to a post-flood recovery, from 2.0 percent in 2011.

But regional powerhouse China is projected to see growth fall to 8.5 percent, from 9.3 percent, the UN said.

More than 1,000 people have died in massive floods across Southeast Asia in recent months and millions of homes and livelihoods have been destroyed.

The floods are expected to curb growth by 1.3 percentage points in Thailand this year, and by 0.3 percent each in Laos, Myanmar and the Philippines, according to ESCAP.

Related Links
Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters
A world of storm and tempest
When the Earth Quakes




.
.
Get Our Free Newsletters Via Email
...
Buy Advertising Editorial Enquiries




.

. Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle



DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Swiss Re estimates Thai floods cost at $600 mn
Zurich (AFP) Dec 6, 2011
Reinsurance giant Swiss Re on Tuesday said that Thailand's worst flooding in decades would cost it around $600 million, but warned that the estimate could be revised. "Water levels remain high in certain regions, making it difficult to correctly estimate the losses," the company said in a statement. "The impact of the floods on the Thai economy and on businesses active there is likely to ... read more


DISASTER MANAGEMENT
SEAsia floods cost $6.3 bln in lost output: UN

Radioactive water leaked at second Japan plant

Evacuation plans need to incorporate family perspectives

Blue goo a weapon in nuclear cleanup

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Researchers find best routes to self-assembling 3D shapes

Avatars develop real world skills

Tablets, e=readers closing book on ink-and-paper era

Hewlett-Packard makes webOS mobile software public

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Post-Mubarak Egypt has softer line on Nile

Brazil's Belo Monte dam better than alternatives: study

Mekong nations meet on controversial Laos dam

Marine biodiversity loss due to warming and predation

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Plunge in CO2 put the freeze on Antarctica

Tropical sea temperatures influence melting in Antarctica

Chile glacier in rapid retreat

Where Antarctic predatory seabirds overwinter

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
The heart of the plant

Scientists reveal where growing conditions today mirror future climates

Healthier hot dogs an impossibility of food science

Africa's Sahel desert regions face major food crisis: UN

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Mexico unrattled one day after quake

Major 6.5 quake hits southern Mexico, 2 dead

Merging Tsunami Doubled Japan Destruction

Lava Fingerprinting Reveals Differences Between Hawaii's Twin Volcanoes

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Newest nation South Sudan ravaged by war, climate

US troops deploy in LRA rebel hunt: Uganda army

Tough hunt for Lord's Resistance Army in central Africa

Liberia's Nobel Peace Laureate holds peace jamboree

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Study finds wide distrust of atheists

How our brains keep us focused

Max Planck Florida Institute creates first realistic 3D reconstruction of a brain circuit

Changes in the path of brain development make human brains unique


.

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2012 - Space Media Network. 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 Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement