'Odette' onslaught seen hurting Philippines' fragile recovery

Fallen electric pylons block a road while a sign asking for food (L) is displayed along a road in Surigao City, Surigao del norte province, on Dec. 19, 2021, days after Super Typhoon Rai (Odette) devastated the city.

AFP / Ferdinandh Cabrera

MANILA, Philippines — The wrath of Typhoon Odette (Rai), which flattened homes and vast swathes of land in central and southern Philippines, is expected to dampen the economy’s delicate recovery from a pandemic-led collapse, economists said.

Reports tallied 208 deaths so far and losses in agriculture, businesses, and tourism projected to fall in the billions as Odette swept through Visayas and Mindanao days before Christmas, where consumer spending usually peaks.

For analysts, the devastation could indeed impact the country’s fragile economic recovery. Nicholas Antonio Mapa, senior economist at ING Bank in Manila, expects the gross domestic product to get trimmed as a result.

Full Story: https://www.philstar.com/business/2021/12/20/2149124/odette-onslaught-seen-hurting-philippines-fragile-recovery