Even those jolts, terrible as they were, did not prepare the country for the floods of 2011, as the surging waters inundated some 65 out of 77 provinces .
The floodwaters did not recede until ear lives, affected some 13.million people and cost the country some 1.4 trillion baht (or about US$42.5 billion). According to the World Bank. Beside the torrential rainfall –some 20 percent higher tan usual- the blame for the extensive damage from the floods also came down to such cause as unregulated urban sprawl and overdependence on flood-control infrastructure. Seen by many as typical of the preferential treatment given to Bangkok and its denizens, the government’s decision to protect the inner city of capital heightened social tensions, offering a glimpse of how natural tensions, offering a glimpse of how natural disasters can also have serious spillover effects .