The Philippines will be seeking at least $1 billion from international donors for reconstruction after devastating back-to-back storms highlighted the country’s vulnerability to climate change report in Wednesday.
At least 712 people were killed and 7 million affected, while the cost of damage to crops and fisheries was estimated at $396 million. Another $114 million of infrastructure was damaged.
The government said the donor conference may take place in late November or early December, after the U.N. and the World Bank assess total damage from the storms.
The Philippines was looking for grants to fund reconstruction, followed by concessional loans and commercial borrowings. The Philippine reconstruction commission may recommend issuing of special bonds to fund the project, Arroyo said.
Damage caused by the storms may shave 0.3 to 0.4 percentage points from the country’s gross domestic product, which is projected to grow between 0.8 percent and 1.8 percent this year.
Remittances from Filipinos working abroad, projected to rise 4 percent this year to $17.1 billion, could counter the losses. The money sent home by 10 million overseas workers is the driving force behind domestic spending, which is the backbone of the economy.
Thailand’s Meteorological Department on Tuesday warned residents in 18 provinces of heavy rains and flash floods as tropical storm Ketsana is expected to reach the country’s northeast region Wednesday.
Philippine
On Tuesday morning, the Philippine government confirmed a total of 240 people were dead, nearly 40 people were still missing and 1.87 million affected
following devastating floods and landslides in Luzon caused by Ketsana, Xinhua reported.
The number of deaths from Tropical Storm Ketsana increased to 140, plus 32 missing with many more expected to be confirmed as rescue workers and medical
teams continue to reach flooded areas.
The extent of the destruction, and the scale of the clean up job which remains to be carried out, became clear as residents emerged from the roofs and upper
floors of their home where some had been stranded for as long as 48 hours.
Foreign governments promised aid for he victims of the disaster and health workers hurried to anticipate outbreaks of infectious disease, as the city of 12
million people struggled to clean up the mud and water dumped by the worst storm to hit the area in a generation.
“We are concentrating on massive relief operations, [but] the system is overwhelmed, local government units are overwhelmed,” said Anthony Golez, the head of
the National Disaster Coordinating Council, “Our assets and people are spread too thinly.”