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The world's supply of hard disk drives has fallen dramatically after devastating floods in Thailand killed over 800 people, and brought parts of the country's economy to a standstill. But while flood waters recede slowly, they are still receding. The country's energy ministry today projected a spike in energy demand, as its industry will need more energy than normal to regain its healthy growth rate from before November.

Western Digital is already back in production in Bang Pa-In, once the summer palace of Thailand's kings. But until the country's industry is completely back on its feet, the price of hard drives worldwide may remain unseasonably high. Amazon price tracking data for a 2 TB WD Caviar SATA III drive that sold for as low as $134.99 last September, sells for $210.88 today after peaking at $269.99 around Black Friday.