SBR- Content.pmd - INBO

State of the Basin Report - 2003In the portion of Thailand in the MekongBasin, reported production losses due tothe 2000 floods amounted to about $21million. 15 In 2001, the region of UdonThani was particularly hard hit byflooding, with 2.8 million affected people(727,600 households); 47,350 km 2 offarmland inundated; and, 5,300 km ofroads damaged.In the Mekong Delta in Viet Nam, over500 people died due to the 2000 floods.As in Cambodia, most were children. Atotal of 5 million people were affected;825,000 homes damaged or destroyed, and60,000 households had to evacuate theirhomes. Nearly all the summer-autumn rice crop was lost, and thousands of kilometers of nationaland provincial roads were damaged. The total costs offlood damage amounted to $285 million. In 2001, 230people drowned during floods in the delta, including180 children. As of late September 2002, flood waterscovered half of the 12-province delta region, affectingabout 270,000 people. A total of 71 people died due tofloods, including 65 children. Although 112,000 peoplewere in urgent need of food relief, most of the ricecrop had not been affected because of early completionof the harvest. About 54,000 houses were flooded andnearly 700 km of roads submerged.If global climate change results in highertemperatures and sea levels, flooding in theMekong Delta will be more severeIn 2000, the total cost of flood damage in Viet Nam wasan estimated $285 millionIn addition to these direct costs, flooding causessignificant indirect and cumulative effects. The mostserious problems facing many people living in ruralflood prone areas are food and income security. Inthe immediate aftermath of floods, the lostproduction of rice and other food crops meansmonths of insufficient food for many households.The lack of grazing lands for livestock forcesfarmers to sell animals at low prices. The timerequired to regrow damaged fruit and plantation treesmeans lower incomes for several years.Official government figures for flood damage do notinclude the costs to households to repair or replacetheir damaged housing and crop storage facilities. Transportation costs increase when damagedroads and bridges can not be restored quickly, causing increases in the prices of some goods andservices. This, in turn, undermines trade and production efforts. The direct and indirect effects onnational economies can be significant. In Cambodia, for example, it is generally agreed that the2000 floods reduced GDP growth by 1.0 percent (from predicted levels of 5.5 percent to about 4.5percent for the year).276