Tsunami's economic costs emerging

Tsunami’s economic costs emerging

The tsunami catastrophe in South Asia is likely to cause an economic devastation of more than $13.6 billion. The tsunami has left more than 68'000 people dead, with Sri Lanka, Thailand, India and Indonesia worst-hit. Economists believe that the countries hit by the giant waves could see a slowdown in economic growth. In Sri Lanka, certain economists expect annual economic growth to slow down as much as 1%. For Thailand, this figure is 0.1%. Governments are projected to take measures such as reducing taxes and increasing spending in order to facilitate recovery. The World Bank, which provides about $20 billion a year as development aid to the world's poorest countries, stated that it is in negotiations with countries, including Sri Lanka and Indonesia, about redirecting existing loans to the rebuilding process.