The Australian government has warned of impacts to the country’s economy in the wake of Cyclone Alfred that caused massive losses to infrastructure, agriculture and the dairy industries when it struck in late February. The horticultural industry was among the worst hit, with strong winds toppling and damaging hundreds of orchard trees, and floodwaters inundating farmlands on the northern coast of the state of New South Wales. As of March 17, farmers had reported at least A$17 million ($11 million) worth of damage, according to ABC News. Dairy farmers were also heavily affected, with many having to dump thousands of liters of milk when factories lost power and floodwaters prevented deliveries, ABC reported. One crop that benefited from the cyclone was rice, with the rain relieving a dry start to the year. “A lot of the crops were looking for this rain so they’re actually going to thrive in all this water logging,” Natural Rice Company general manager Steve Rogers told the local news agency. Based on the damage wrought on agriculture and infrastructure, Australia’s treasurer, Jim Chalmers, said the country is looking at a loss of up to A$1.2 billion ($760 million) to its gross domestic product. Chalmers said that with businesses temporarily shut because of the cyclone, there was an estimated loss of 12 million work hours. The losses could lead to “an upward pressure on inflation from building costs to damaged crops raising prices for staples like fruit and vegetables,” Chalmers said. At least 63,600 insurance claims…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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