PM Anutin orders faster flood relief and southern rain preparations

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul chaired a meeting of the National Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Command on Sunday (October 4, 2026) to review flooding and preparations for rain forecast for October 4–7.

Speaking from the Phanom Rung meeting room at Buriram Provincial Hall, he addressed all provinces by video conference and stressed four urgent flood management directives:

• Speed up damage assessments and relief payments. Ensure assessments are comprehensive and up to date, covering impacts on lives, property, homes, agricultural land and public utilities. Expedite the required submissions and payment procedures so assistance reaches affected people as quickly as possible. The process must be accurate, transparent and verifiable. In particular, urgently assess damage from flooding on Friday and Saturday (September 25–26, 2026) and in the days since, to secure approval for THB9,000 relief payments and transfer the money promptly to those affected.
• Restore areas where floodwaters have receded. Accelerate drainage, remove rubbish and other unsanitary waste, and clean homes and public spaces to prevent public health problems after flooding. Prepare a major clean-up plan so residents and businesses can resume normal life and activities as soon as possible.

• Restore public utilities. Speed up the restoration of electricity and water supplies, roads, communications systems and telephone signals so normal services resume in all areas as quickly as possible.
• Prepare the 14 southern provinces for forecast heavy rain. Provincial governors must review emergency response plans for individual areas and urgently prepare rescue teams, pumps, boats, shelters and evacuation plans for vulnerable groups, particularly in low-lying areas, at the foot of hills and in locations repeatedly affected by flooding. They must closely monitor information from the Thai Meteorological Department and the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM), and issue clear, timely advance warnings to the public.

Anutin said flooding was mainly affecting provinces in river basins, including the Chao Phraya basin and other major basins in Thailand.

The situation in the Northeast remained under control, while Bangkok and surrounding provinces needed to drain as much water as possible because stagnant floodwater was beginning to become foul.

He stressed the need to address the problem and remove water from affected areas as quickly as possible.

He added that residents in at-risk areas had protection under a disaster insurance programme covering three types of disaster.

These were floods, windstorms and earthquakes, with coverage extending to 30 million households, he said.

The government would coordinate efforts to ensure prompt relief for disasters occurring from October 4 onwards.

Residents did not need to take any action at this stage, as the departments responsible for disaster prevention and local administration, together with provincial administrations, would urgently monitor affected areas and coordinate with insurers to deliver assistance quickly.

Anutin said the government was concerned about the situation and was working every day to resolve it while preparing for further substantial rainfall.

He said the South would experience very heavy rain in the coming week, in all provinces from Prachuap Khiri Khan to Narathiwat.

Provincial governors, the Fourth Army Area and all government agencies had therefore been instructed to prepare emergency response plans, ready themselves for different situations and prepare evacuation centres.

He stressed that the centres must meet standards and provide evacuees with as much comfort as possible.