Thailand's flooding and our HDD needs

This holiday season might be a big one for SSD manufacturers. Like most tropical regions, Thailand experiences dry and rainy seasons, which are somewhat predicable, with the rainy season beginning in March or April and ending by October. Flooding is not uncommon, and so the most flood prone, and economically important areas, such as those where Western Digital, Seagate and their componenent suppliers set-up shop, often end up being the most well protected. Unfortunately this year's flooding wouldn't abide the measures taken against it, and so the levies, dams and pumps failed to protect the factories that are the lifeblood of the Thai economy. The loss of industry will have a global impact, but it's the loss of life, home and livelihood that will have a much longer impact on the Thailand's people than on our desire for magnetic storage. We'll leave the plight of the people to be covered by more capable journalists, but we'll do our best to lay out the impact on our beat.