Damages at flood-hit Thai South initially gauged

BANGKOK, January 17 (TNA) - The Thai Chamber of Commerce has initially estimated that damages in the flood-hit southern region may exceed 85 billion baht if the inundations persist. Thai Chamber of Commerce Vice Chair Vichai Assarasakorn told journalists on Tuesday that a recent survey conducted by the Thai Chamber of Commerce's southern office and reports from its central offices showing if the latest inundations in the Thai South returned to normal within the next 1-2 weeks, flood damages should not exceed 15 billion baht, or only 0.1 per cent of the country's overall gross domestic product (GDP). However, if the flooding persisted for another 2-3 months, damages could be as high as 85-120 billion baht, or 0.5-0.7 per cent of the country's GDP, including the local agricultural sector, where a number of rubber and oil palm plantations are mostly affected. Besides, a number of local livestocks in flood-hit areas have died, while most international tourists have arrived in Andaman coastal areas, instead of those along the Gulf of Thailand, causing a minor impact on the overall tourism in the Thai South so far. Vichai said if tourism stimulus measures were implemented, international travellers would come back to coastal tourist destinations along the Gulf of Thailand during the Songkran or the Traditional Thai New Year Festival in mid-April 2017. The Thai Chamber of Commerce vice chair took the opportunity to thank the Thai government, on behalf of the private sector, for providing assistance to southern flood victims through various approaches. (TNA)