Ecuador: Financial Toll could reach 3 billion dollars from Earthquake

abcnews.go.com reported…. While the human tragedy of Ecuador’s most-powerful earthquake in decades is still sinking in, the government is just beginning to evaluate the monumental task of rebuilding. President Rafael Correa says it could cost as much as $3 billion to rebuild. That’s about 3 percent of Ecuador’s gross domestic product. He told reporters Tuesday: “It’s going to be a long battle.”

The problem is Ecuador doesn’t have the extra money. Prices for its commodities have been falling of late on lower demand from China. Ecuador’s growth last year was stagnant. And even before the earthquake, the International Monetary Fund was forecasting its economy would shrink by around 4.5 percent in 2016. Oil is Ecuador’s largest export and cover 35 percent of the government budget. Read Article

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