Climatic events can have disastrous consequences on rural livelihoods, which rely mainly on agriculture and
natural resources. The way households and communities respond to climatic shocks depends on their available resources. We
formulated that education is a human capital asset that can increase coping abilities in difficult times because education improves
access to both social and economic resources. Based on the Thai government surveys of the living conditions and life quality
of 68,343 rural villages for the years 2009 and 2011, we investigated the impacts of floods and droughts in 2010 on community
welfare, i.e., consumption and income in 2011 at the village level. Using difference-in-difference methods, we analyzed how
differential demographic composition and education could reduce or increase economic vulnerability to natural disasters. We
found that floods and droughts do not produce a negative effect either on food and nonfood consumption, investment in agriculture
and education, or on income. However, this applies mainly to communities with higher educational attainment partly because
these communities can better secure government financial aid for flood and drought affected areas. Education thus may have
an important role in reducing economic vulnerability.