Offering the advantage of low cost craftsmanship, Surat's diamond units process eight out of ten small diamonds in the world.

VOA: standard.2009.04.03

The president of the Surat Diamond Association, C.P.Vanani, says at least half the diamond units have shut down, while others are working below capacity.

VOA: standard.2009.04.03

The others have migrated back to their villages to work on the farms, or are trying to find work in small units outside Surat.

VOA: standard.2009.04.03

They are Dalian in China, Naga in the Philippines, Surat in India and Bandung in Indonesia.

CNN: Pressure Points

The provinces of Chumphon, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Surat Thani, Trang, Krabi and Phatthalung have been the hardest hit.

BBC: Thailand tourist islands flood in deadly rains

In the case of Surat, the trigger was, of all things, an outbreak of the plague in 1994.

CNN: Pressure Points