Thailand's budget deficit would be far higher than planned because of the worst flooding in 50 years, the government said on Tuesday, and people in Bangkok were told not to drop their guard even if the immediate danger to the capital had passed. Flooding in the north, northeast and center of the country has killed at least 315 people since July, damaged large areas of farmland and closed huge industrial estates this month. The cabinet approved an increase in the budget deficit to 400 billion baht ($13 billion) for the fiscal year from October 1, up from the initially agreed 350 billion, Industry Minister Wannarat Channukul told reporters. Deputy Prime Minister Kittirat Na Ranong said the government would look at ways to borrow "several hundreds of billions of baht" to fund the recovery effort. He did not go into details. "The cabinet assigned the finance minister and me to issue a law for the big borrowing," he said.
Thailand's budget deficit would be far higher than planned because of the worst flooding in 50 years, the government said on Tuesday, and people in Bangkok were told not to drop their guard even if the immediate danger to the capital had passed.
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Flooding in the north, northeast and center of the country has killed at least 315 people since July, damaged large areas of farmland and closed huge industrial estates this month.
The cabinet approved an increase in the budget deficit to 400 billion baht ($13 billion) for the fiscal year from October 1, up from the initially agreed 350 billion, Industry Minister Wannarat Channukul told reporters.
Deputy Prime Minister Kittirat Na Ranong said the government would look at ways to borrow "several hundreds of billions of baht" to fund the recovery effort. He did not go into details.
"The cabinet assigned the finance minister and me to issue a law for the big borrowing," he said.
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has said spending on reconstruction could amount to more than 100 billion baht.
The cost could go far higher if Bangkok, which accounts for 41 percent of GDP, is hit by floods.
Monsoon rain, high tides and water flowing down from reservoirs in northern Thailand had threatened the capital at the weekend but its defensive system of dikes and canals held.
However, Bangkok Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra warned the danger was not completely over and that districts in the north of the capital may still face problems over the next 48 hours.
"We don't want to cause any panic among Bangkokians," he told a news conference late on Monday. "However, if you want to move valuables or electrical equipment to higher ground for safety reasons, that would be good."
Residents have complained about contradictory noises from city and government officials, including an evacuation warning in a northern suburb last week that proved to be a false alarm.
Photo shows an aerial view of a flooded temple in Ayutthaya province October 15, 2011. Rescue workers reinforced make-shift walls and sand-bags around Bangkok on Saturday as the worst floods in half-a-century threatened Thailand's low-lying capital after swamping entire provinces in the north. Credit: REUTERS/Stringer
Article continues: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/18/us-thailand-floods-idUSTRE79C0W720111018
