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Home / These aren’t lakes, they’re rice fields
These aren’t lakes, they’re rice fields
Posted by Joanna in Climate Change, Natural disasters, Nature, 13 Dec 2011
Merciless rainfall has been ravaging Thailand for the last six months. Cataclysmic floods have destroyed most of the rice fields, which are the backbone of this country’s economy. Currently, high water levels still remain in 17 out of the 77 provinces.
According to the Bank of Thailand’s preliminary estimates, losses caused by floods range from between 1.9 to 2.6 billion dollars.
The Ministry of Agriculture reported that the floods could damage more than 1 million hectares of rice fields. If that were to happen, global prices would skyrocket, as Thailand is its largest exporter in the world.
Floods caused by tropical storms and monsoons have affected millions of Thai people, killing 602 throughout the country.
Among the areas particularly affected by the elements is the former capital of the Kingdom of Siam: Ayutthaya. Located there, is an ancient temple complex which is on the UNESCO list of cultural heritage. This too, is under water.
Tags: flood, rain, rice fields, Thailand
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Yes definitely as one of the Southeast Asian nations ,Thailand is also agricultural like Philippines, Vietnam,Indonesia, Malaysia etc. Billions of dollars are lost when flood struck to these nations as far as crops, properties, livelihoods and more often than not lives…The sad thing is the farmers in these nations are not like the farmers in Europe, or in America that their farmers are rich…Here and in some Southeast Asian countries, farmers are most likely poor or just an average…No yield means no food on their table….