The Economic Aftermath of the Tsunami

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The Economic Aftermath of the Tsunami

• A case study of Thailand and the Maldives
• Cara Steffey and Jillian Stout

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Before the Tsunami Thailand

• 1970-1990 6.7 per year growth
• Bankok very commercial, modern city
• Well developed infrastructure
• Free-enterprise economy
• Main industries tourism, textiles, agricultural
  processing, beverages, tobacco, electrical
  appliances, computers, and minerals such as
  tungsten and tin
• Welcomes foreign investments

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Before the Tsunami Maldives

• Government began economic reform in 1989
• Main industries tourism, fishing
• Agriculture and manufacturing play lesser role in
  economy because of limited cultivatible land and
  shortage of domestic labor
  
• Most staple foods are imported
• Threat of erosion and global warming from
  low-lying land

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After the Tsunami Thailand

• 8,500 dead
• Massive destruction of property in southern
  province of Krabi, Phangnga, and Phuket
  
• Tourism and fishing hard hit along coasts

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After the Tsunami Maldives

• 10 of the islands totally destroyed
• 100 people dead
• 12,000 people displaced
• 300 million property damage
• Felt by entire country, not just in concentrated
  areas
  
• 50,000 buildings destroyed (schools, hospitals,
  pharmacies, administrative offices)
  
• 79 islands without safe drinking water
• 19 out of 87 resorts forced to close down

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Repair Efforts Thailand

• Focus on restoring coastal livelihoods
• Chance to replenish fishing populations
• Overall impact on agriculture was minimal, but
  salt water did damage some farms and fresh water
  sources
  
• Governmental help
• Process of developing an early warning system

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Repair Efforts Maldives

• Repairs require US 304 million
• Rebuilding expected to proceed quickly, mainly
  replicating previous structures
  
• Governmental help
• 14 million from World Bank

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Complications Thailand

• Tsunami revealed strategic weaknesses in economy
  over concentrated and undiversified tourism
  development
  
• Property owners dead/individual records loss
  making it difficult to rebuild
  
• Families preoccupied with personal tragedies
  rather than immediate rebuilding
  
• Domestic tourism expected to take longer than
  foreign tourism
  

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Complications Maldives

• Civil unrest broke out
• Infrastructure damaged
• Difficult to rebuild and recover

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Positive Outlook

• Spurred development of long term strategies such
  as appropriate coastal planning
  
• Rebuild stronger structures
• Donations for recovery at record levels
• Financial and technological volunteers

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