SYDNEY (Reuters) – The Australian government has estimated costs from Tropical Cyclone Alfred to be about A$1.2 billion ($759 million), shaving off a quarter of a percentage point from its gross domestic product in the March quarter, Australian media reported.
Alfred hit land north of Brisbane, Australia’s third-most populous city, this month after being downgraded to a tropical low, triggering flash flooding and power outages in the states of Queensland and New South Wales.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers will say on Tuesday that though it is still too early to quantify the cyclone’s full impacts on the economy, the event would dent the country’s quarterly growth, according to excerpts of his speech distributed to Australian media.
The treasurer’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“We don’t yet know the precise cost to our budget, but again it will be significant,” Chalmers will say in the speech to the Queensland Media Club, reports said, a week away from presenting his final budget before the national election due by mid-May.
“I expect that these costs and these new provisions will be in the order of at least A$1.2 billion, a substantial amount of money and that means a big new pressure on the budget.”
The storm could have spurred inflation due to the damage to fruit and vegetable farms, Chalmers will say, as his centre-left government fights to retain power. Recent polls showed the opposition Liberal-National coalition was slightly ahead of the Labor government.
More than 53,000 claims have been submitted for damages related to the storm as of Friday, the Insurance Council of Australia said.
Chalmers is also expected to detail the likely economic impact from U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to impose tariffs on steel and aluminium, reports said.
($1 = 1.5808 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Renju Jose in Sydney; Editing by Jamie Freed)
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