Millions in typhoon economic losses, recovery aid

According to resource speakers at a Friday economic recovery forum, the loss from Typhoon Mawar damages far surpassed the initial business loss estimates of $111 million, while military-related construction and approximately $80 million in federal disaster funds so far has been keeping Guam’s economy afloat.

Due to Mawar, Guam’s pandemic-stricken tourism recovery has been pushed back by a year or two. Despite the ramped up efforts of the Guam Visitors Bureau to seize the July to September peak season for visitors, Gary Hiles, chief economist at the Guam Department of Labor said at the Guam Chamber of Commerce-sponsored economic forum, “The economy will not reach pre-pandemic levels this year (2023), but it should continue to expand in the construction-related industries…”

In addition to the tourism industry remaining at about 60% in comparison to pre-pandemic levels, the industry lost 20% to 30% as a result of Mawar, Hiles said. “Since we’re at a low level for tourism, that provides more opportunity for larger and faster recovery,” he added.

The GVB initially forecast 670,000 visitors and nearly a million visitors for fiscal years 2023 and 2024 respectively, but revised to 515,000 and 600,000 respectively. For its fiscal 2023, it welcomed 426,000 visitors as of early July 2023.

In 2023, local tourism businesses received up to $25,000 each in direct aid for typhoon recovery from the GVB on top of available federal aid to help them reopen on or before July 15, which was the anticipated summer peak that year — the year when the typhoon hit.

Hiles noted an initial assessment executed by the Bureau of Statistics and Plans, revealing that the business losses from the typhoon reached $111 million. However, the assessment was carried out in May of 2023, and there was no report released as of July 7, 2023. Hiles added that several other things were not measured, which included the inconveniences of queuing for gas for up to 10 hours in the initial stages of post-Mawar or carrying water from the ground to higher establishment floors.

Just like during the COVID-19 pandemic, the local economy received millions in federal aid, not to forget the help from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the military, and neighboring islands. Forum participants also mentioned how Guam is lucky amid the devastation that there were zero casualties as a direct consequence of the typhoon. The typhoon left thousands on the island without power and internet for several months.

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Citation

Haidee Eugenio Gilbert For Pacific Daily News. (2023, July 7). Millions in Typhoon economic losses, recovery aid. guampdn.com. https://www.guampdn.com/news/millions-in-typhoon-economic-losses-recovery-aid/article_2ff00c3e-1c98-11ee-9050-17f9f012223b.html