The earthquake and tsunami disaster that devastated Asian countries last month could plunge nearly 2 million additional people into poverty, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) warned in a report released Thursday. The report said an initial assessment of the impact of the December 26 calamity showed that nearly 1 million people could be thrown into poverty in Indonesia, the worst-hit country from the disaster. The number of poor in India could rise by 645,000, while the figure was estimated at about 250,000 in Sri Lanka, it added. In Maldives, where about half the country's houses were affected, the ADB report said some 23,500 people - or more than 50 per cent of the population - could fall below the poverty line. "The poverty impact of the tsunami will be enormous," said Ifzal Ali, chief economist of the Manila-based ADB. "Poverty is potentially the most important effect of this natural disaster." However, he expressed confidence that economies in the region would be able to cope. "As devastating as the disaster is to the people in affected areas, Asia's resilience to external shocks will play a role in minimizing the impact the disaster will have on the region's overall economic growth," he said. The ADB report noted that the damage in Indonesia, India and Thailand was largely confined to rural areas rather than key economic and densely populated urban centres and industrial hubs that drive economic growth. It added that the tragedy could even provide a surge in economic activity in the region that could have positive long-term effects. "Reconstruction from natural disasters requires new investment that should have a positive impact," the report said. "And investment should translate into jobs. The aid process has already increased demand for a range of domestic goods and services."
