Floods: World Bank on damage & recovery

660 billion baht in property loss & 700 billion in lost opportunities. Flood impact "not all negative as it would spur spending."

Photo above of piles of flood-damaged television sets and other electrical appliances left by their owners on a pavement on Phahon Yothin Road. A post-flood boom in the home-making and electrical appliances businesses is expected. (Photo: Apichit Jinakul).

How will the flood recovery money be spent? Difficult choices such as possibly abandoning old Don Meuang Airport might have to be made. Today's Bangkok Post editorial "What to fix, what to leave" takes a closer look here.

Click button to listen to World Bank Report on Floods Changes to download

Economy faces flood hit: World Bank estimates damage at B1.4 trillion by Wichit Chantanusornsiri

The devastating floods have caused 1.4 trillion baht in estimated damage and are likely to slash Thailand's economic growth to 2.4% this year, the World Bank says.

The grim assessment was unveiled yesterday by the bank's country director Annette Dixon after a meeting with Virabongsa Ramangura, chairman of the Strategic Committee for Reconstruction and Future Development.

Of the estimated damage, around 660 billion baht involves property losses and 700 billion baht comprises lost opportunities.

The initial survey was jointly carried out with state and private agencies.

Based on the estimate, Thailand's economic growth will tumble to 2.4% from 3.6% projected previously, said Ms Dixon.

However, she said the impact from the floods would not be all negative as it would spur spending.

She said economic growth would continue next year as a result of rehabilitation and rebuilding spending by both the public and private sectors.

The World Bank's damage survey and assessment covers four sectors: public infrastructure such as transport and telecoms; manufacturing such as farming, tourism and industry; social development such as education and public health; and the environment.

It has also proposed a short-term rehabilitation plan that calls for a focus on those directly affected by the floods.

According to the World Bank, the government has rolled out several relief measures and assistance, but it should do more to help make access to this information available to the poor.

It has called on the government to ensure that affected farmers are given every assistance possible as they will soon resume work.

They need high-quality seeds, repairs to farm equipment and improvements to infrastructure.

The World Bank has also made suggestions about flood management, including construction of flood barriers around industrial estates, implementation of the royally initiated water management projects and application of the flood control plan for the Mekong region by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica). 

Ms Dixon said the World Bank has not made any suggestions about economic stimulus. The planned rehabilitation efforts would do the work as soon as they are under way.

The World Bank will conduct another round of assessments after the floodwater recedes, Ms Dixon said. 

Mr Virabongsa said yesterday that he has been assured by the Japan External Trade Organisation (Jetro) and Jica that Japan would not move its production bases out of Thailand. 

He said that compared with other countries in the region, Thailand remains strong in terms of public infrastructure and a skilled labour force. 

He said that Toyota Motor Corporation is committed to its goal of manufacturing one million vehicles next year and increasing its production to 2.5 million vehicles in the next five years. 

Toyota was among several Japanese automakers that were were hit hard after several industrial estates were submerged. 

Mr Virabongsa, Finance Minister Thirachai Phuvanatnaranubala, Industry Minister Wannarat Channukul and Deputy Finance Minister Wirun Techapaiboon yesterday witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding on loans for development of a flood prevention system for the country's industrial estates. 

Under the memorandum signed between the Government Savings Bank (GSB) and the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand, the bank will provide 15 billion baht in soft loans to support the implementation of the flood prevention plan going forward.

Four industrial estates that were badly hit by the flooding, Rojana Industrial Park, Bang Pa-in Industrial Estate, Nava Nakorn Industrial Estate and Bang Kadi Industrial Park, have joined the loan scheme.

Loan approvals are expected next month.

(Source: Bangkok Post, Economy faces flood hit, World Bank estimates damage at B1.4 trillion, 26/11/2011, Wichit Chantanusornsiri, link)

Economic Recovery Vocabulary

World Bank - a bank that provides loans to developing countries around the world to build needed infrastructure with the official goal of povery reduction (See Wikipedia)

Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) - an independent governmental agency that coordinates official development assistance (ODA) for the government of Japan (See website and Wikipedia)

Japan External Trade Organisation (Jetro) - the Japanese export promotion agency (See Bangkok website)

estimates - guesses of what the size, value, amount, cost, etc. of something might be การประมาณค่า
World Bank estimates damage at B1.4 trillion

devastating - very harmful and damaging
devastating floods

economic growth - the increase in business and economic acticity over a period of time (See Wikipedia)
slash - (of a budget, price, etc.) to cut, especially by a large amount ตัด
slash economic growth - reduce economic growth

likely to slash Thailand's economic growth to 2.4% this year

pile - many things placed on top of each other สุม, กอง, รวมกันไว้, สุมไว้เป็นกอง, เอามาสุมไว้

electrical appliances - machines used in the home that use electricity ranging from washing machines and refrigerators to television sets and CD players; also called "home appliances" (See Wikipedia)
pavement -  บาทวิถี, ทางเดิน, ถนนราดยาง, วัสดุสำหรับปูหรือราดถนน
piles of flood-damaged television sets and other electrical appliances left by their owners on a pavement

home-making -  the management of a home, housework, housekeeping or household management, "creates goods and services within a household, such as meals, childcare, household repairs, or the manufacture of clothes and gifts. Common tasks include cleaning, cooking, and looking after children" (See Wikipedia)
expected - believe will happen คาดว่า (จะเกิดขึ้น)

a post-flood boom in the home-making and electrical appliances businesses is expected

grim - unpleasant, depressing, and difficult to accept; unpleasant and making you feel upset and worried ที่โหดร้าย
assessment - a judgment or opinion; the process of making a judgment or forming an opinion, after considering something or someone carefully การประเมิณสถานการณ์
grim assessment - an judgement made after carefully looking at information that is unpleasant, depressing and difficult to accept  (example: after looking at his chest x-ways the doctor made the grim assessment that the patient had only one year to live)

unveiled - announced something officially that was previously a secret เปิดเผย  introduced แนะนำ

the grim assessment was unveiled yesterday

meeting - when a group of people come together to discuss issues and make decisions การประชุม

opportunities - situations in which it is possible to do what you want or need to do
lost opportunities - good things that could have happened (business, work and income that was possible if the problem did not happen); also see the concept in economic of "opportunity cost"

opportunity cost - the value of one option or alternative that could be chosen and done (can't do everything, so the lost opportunities are the things we did not choose) (See Wikipedia and famous Robert Frost poem: The Road Not Taken)

property - land and buildings built on the land
property losses - damage to buildings and houses

around 660 billion baht involves property losses and 700 billion baht comprises lost opportunities.

initial -  early; first; happening at the beginning of a process ในเบื้องต้น
survey - gathering information about what people think about different subjects (public opionion) by asking large numbers of people questions and counting their answers, and then using statistics, graphs, and tables to present results (See Wikipedia)  การสำรวจความเห็น
initial survey - the first survey (more to come in future)

jointly - done together อย่างร่วมกัน, พร้อมกัน, ด้วยกัน
carry out - do
jointly carried out - done together

the initial survey was jointly carried out with state and private agencies.

estimate - guess an amount (not exact); to say what you think an amount or value is or will be, either by using available information or by guessing คาดคะเน  โดยประมาณ
projected - expected, forecast; the amount that experts believe (forecast) for the future
tumble - 1. decrease; 2. fall down (example: he wasn't looking, took a wrong step and tumbled down the stairs)

based on the estimate, Thailand's economic growth will tumble to 2.4% from 3.6% projected previously

impact - an effect or influence ผลกระทบ
negative - bad ที่เป็นด้านลบ
spur - to cause something to happen ก่อให้เกิด  (See glossary)

the impact from the floods would not be all negative as it would spur spending 

rehabilitation - 1. making a system, building, etc., suitable for use again, i.e., bringing it back to a good condition การฟื้นฟูสภาพกิจการ; 2. the process of returning someone or something to a good or healthy condition, state or way of living การทำให้กลับสู่สภาพเดิม, การทำให้กลับมาดีเหมือนเดิม; 3. the process of making normal again after suffering injury or harm; 4. made acceptable again after being rejected; 5. improve condition so that it can operate again

infrastructure - the high-cost facilities that everyone in the economy shares (water, roads, electricity, trains) สาธารณูปโภค
public infrastructure - infrastructure for the public (all the people); usually provided by the government as a "public good"

transport - to move people or things from one place to another ขนส่ง
telecoms -

development - the gradual growth and formation of something
social development

public health
environment - the natural world of land, sea, plants, and animals

proposed - suggested; presented as a possible project (but not yet chosen or decided upon)
proposed a short-term rehabilitation plan

focus - the main thing it is concerned with ให้ความสำคัญ
a focus on those directly affected by the floods.

relief - 1. help; assistance การช่วยให้พ้นภัย; ผ่อนคลาย, บรรเทา; 2. money, food, medicine etc. that is given to help people in places where there has been a natural disaster, war, etc. เครื่องบรรเทาสาธารณภัย
measures - actions taken to deal with a problem มาตราการ
assistance - help (given to someone)

roll out - start a new program; introduce a new program 
the government has rolled out several relief measures and assistance

access - the right or opportunity to have or use something ได้รับสิทธิ์หรือโอกาสในการใช้
access - the ability to get something สิทธิหรือโอกาสในการใช้
access to information - ability to get the information (that you need)
should do more to help make access to this information available to the poor 

ensure - to make certain that something happens or is done รับรอง ให้ความมั่นใจ  ให้การยืนยัน 
ensure that affected farmers are given every assistance possible

resume - start again; begin again; start again after stopping temporarily (ธุรกิจ) ที่ฟื้นตัวอีกครั้ง ดำเนินต่อไปใหม่, กลับมาอีกครั้ง กลับมาอีกครั้ง
they will soon resume work.

construction - the work of building or making something, especially buildings, bridges, etc. การก่อสร้าง
construction of flood barriers around industrial estates

implementation - making a plan into reality; actually do or carry out a plan; execution of a plan, making sure that something that is planned actually gets done; the process of making something such as a plan, system, idea or law start to work and be used      (See glossary) นำ (แผนการ) มาบังคับใช้

initiated - created; started ริเริ่มโดย
royally initiated - started by His Majesty the King
implementation of the royally initiated water management projects

efforts - the work done towards achieving some goal; people trying to accomplish something, achieve a goal ความพยายาม

economic stimulus - a temporary increase in government spending to get the economy moving after an economic slowdown or recession (See Wikipedia)

the World Bank has not made any suggestions about economic stimulus. The planned rehabilitation efforts would do the work as soon as they are under way.

conduct - to do something in an organised way; to carry out
will conduct another round of assessments after the floodwater recedes

labour force - all the workers in an economy or at a company
Thailand remains strong in terms of public infrastructure and a skilled labour force. 

committed - promised to do something (a sure thing)
vehicles - machines with an engine used to carry people or goods from place to place ยานพาหนะ

committed to its goal of manufacturing one million vehicles next year

submerged - under water จมน้ำ อยู่ใต้น้ำ
hit hard after several industrial estates were submerged. 

memorandum - an informal legal agreement ข้อตกลง
memorandum of understanding - a temporary written agreement between two organizations with how they plan to do business with each other in the future; what their relationship will be (See Wikipedia)

prevention - the act of preventing something, or things that people do in order to prevent something

witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding on loans for development of a flood prevention system for the country's industrial estates  

provide - to give someone something that they want or need
support - help, by giving money, for example สนับสนุน
soft loans to support the implementation of the flood prevention plan going forward.

loan - an amount of money that a person, business, or country borrows, especially from a bank เงินกู้
scheme - a plan that is developed by a government or large organisation in order to provide a particular service for people แผนการ โครงการ
joined the loan scheme.

loan approvals - when a bank makes the final decision to make a loan to an organization or person