By, Jacklyn
Blecker (http://www.seas.gwu.edu)
The great
volume of the ocean was the direct cause of one of natures most deadly
phenomena: a tsunami. Within hours killer waves as high as 50 feet (15 meters)
in some places radiating from the earthquake zone slammed into the coastline of
11 Indian Ocean countries, causing death toll numbers ranging from nearly
158,000 to more than 221,000 with millions more missing. The greatest damage
occurred in Indonesian which makes up 166,320 of the total deaths and 6,245 of
the total number missing. Total tsunami damages are estimated at 0.3 percent of
GDP in Thailand and 0.1 percent in India. Indonesia is estimated to spend 0.4
percent of GDP on reconstruction.
Urgent Needs Obscure Long-Term Costs of Asian
Disaster
WASHINGTON, Dec 30 (IPS) - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World
Bank say it is too early to know the real damage caused by the disaster, but
some independent analysts have began forecasting long-term costs. (
)
A Duke University professor who has studied rural economic development in
Indonesia and Sri Lanka says the loss of coastal villages' fishing fleets will
be a major long-term obstacle to economic recovery.
"These communities are dependent on the ability to fish, to trade by boat
and to travel by boat," said Kramer. (
) "These villagers have very
low incomes to begin with, and without their boats -- their major source of
income -- recovery will be especially slow."
The destruction of boats, vehicles, harbours and roads will make it extremely
difficult for fishermen to travel to other villages in search of work, added
Kramer.(
)
The Brussels-based International
Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) said its union sources in Thailand
estimate that 200,000 people are likely to be affected in southern Thailand's
tourism industry where, in Phuket alone, 50,000 workers are employed in hotels.
(
)
Thousands of plantation workers in Indonesia, tourism employees in Malaysia, as
well as various categories of workers and their relatives in Sri Lanka and
India are likely to be hit for a long time, said the union.
Copyright © 2005 IPS-Inter Press Service News
Agency. All rights reserved
Counting the costs
Philippine Daily
Inquirer, Jan 03,
2005 This story was taken
from www.inq7.net
THE
disaster caused by tsunamis last week over an area spanning Eastern Africa and
South Asia is turning out to be the costliest catastrophe that has hit the
world in more than a hundred years.
The cost in
human terms: About 150,000 dead and counting; tens of thousands of others
missing; tens of thousands injured. Millions of people displaced, without food,
clothes and shelter and jobs. In many villages, the second generation--the
youth--decimated, if not completely wiped out.
The
economic cost: Tens of thousands of poor fishermen living in countries on the
shores of the Indian Ocean are bearing the brunt of the economic cost of the
disaster. Most of the victims are people who live on the margins of the world
economy and also of their national economies.
In the
short term, the disaster has dealt a big blow to the tourism industry,
principally in Thailand, Indonesia and Sri Lanka. (
)
The
environmental costs: Agricultural land in the affected areas may take years to
recover from the sea water flood. The killings of thousands of fowl and
thousands of head of livestock will affect the poultry and cattle industries.
Fruit production has been badly affected. Salt water may kill many trees on the
shoreline. Flooding can wash away not just crops in the farms but also the
nutrient-rich topsoil and some subsoil.
The massive
flooding by sea water will salinate wells and water supplies, rendering them
practically useless for drinking and other household purposes. The flooding may
wash away irrigation systems. (
)
But an
effect that will not be readily evident will be the cost of the disaster in
terms of emotional and psychological trauma and mental paralysis. Because of
these effects, the survivors may not be productive for quite some time and may
depend on the donations from donor countries. They will have to be helped not
just economically but also psychologically to help them get back on their
feet.(
)
After the initial relief operation is
completed, the next stage will be reconstruction, and billions of dollars more
will then be needed. In some cases, entire communities and villages will have
to be rebuilt.(
)