Damage from Storm Boris raging though Poland could total 1% of the country’s economic output - just below $9 billion - if devastation caused by similarly severe floods in 2010 is a guide, and if it is scaled up to the size of today’s economy, experts have said.
As Boris leaves devastated communities in its wake, economists are trying to assess what kind of sums will be needed to put things right.
One easy (if not fail-safe) method is to compare the damage with the after-effects of storms in 2010, when the peak flood tides hit several cities, including Kraków in the south and the capital, Warsaw.
At that time, between $4-5 billion of damage was caused, roughly 1% of the GDP of the country at that time.
After 15 years of rapid growth and EU-funded infrastructure projects, the economic cost of the floods is likely to have grown.
The Polish GDP was worth $0.811 trillion in 2023, according to estimates. Therefore, damage worth 1% of GDP could be just below $9 billion.
The town council of Kłodzko in southwest Poland, so far one of the worst-hit areas, has estimated local damage of around 100 million zlotys ($23 million).
Meanwhile, the Polish roads and motorways authority estimates that in 2010 damage to roads, bridges and flyovers reached $1.1 billion throughout the country. In the floods of the last few days, motorways are so far unaffected, with more disturbance to local roads.
A Bank Santander report forecast there could be a knock-on effect for inflation in the economy if agricultural markets and supply chains are affected by road outages and vehicle damage.
One easy (if not fail-safe) method is to compare the damage with the after-effects of storms in 2010, when the peak flood tides hit several cities, including Kraków in the south and the capital, Warsaw.
At that time, between $4-5 billion of damage was caused, roughly 1% of the GDP of the country at that time.
After 15 years of rapid growth and EU-funded infrastructure projects, the economic cost of the floods is likely to have grown.
The Polish GDP was worth $0.811 trillion in 2023, according to estimates. Therefore, damage worth 1% of GDP could be just below $9 billion.
The town council of Kłodzko in southwest Poland, so far one of the worst-hit areas, has estimated local damage of around 100 million zlotys ($23 million).
Meanwhile, the Polish roads and motorways authority estimates that in 2010 damage to roads, bridges and flyovers reached $1.1 billion throughout the country. In the floods of the last few days, motorways are so far unaffected, with more disturbance to local roads.
A Bank Santander report forecast there could be a knock-on effect for inflation in the economy if agricultural markets and supply chains are affected by road outages and vehicle damage.
