PUBLISHED : 16 Jan 2026 at 13:13
Kids play on Oct 9, 2025, in the Masjid Tha-it community in Pak Kret district in Nonthaburi province, which often floods during the rainy season. (Photo: Pattarapong Chatpattarasill)
This year’s rainy season is expected to arrive earlier and bring heavier rainfall than usual, Deputy Prime Minister Borwornsak Uwanno has warned, urging agencies to step up preparedness for major flooding.
Mr Borwornsak made the remarks on Friday before chairing the first meeting of the task force assigned to draw lessons from recent floods and prepare for potential large-scale disasters. He said he had visited the Hydro-Informatics Institute (HII) on Wednesday to review its latest analyses.
According to the institute’s findings, heavy rainfall is likely to occur ea…
PUBLISHED : 16 Jan 2026 at 13:13
Kids play on Oct 9, 2025, in the Masjid Tha-it community in Pak Kret district in Nonthaburi province, which often floods during the rainy season. (Photo: Pattarapong Chatpattarasill)
This year’s rainy season is expected to arrive earlier and bring heavier rainfall than usual, Deputy Prime Minister Borwornsak Uwanno has warned, urging agencies to step up preparedness for major flooding.
Mr Borwornsak made the remarks on Friday before chairing the first meeting of the task force assigned to draw lessons from recent floods and prepare for potential large-scale disasters. He said he had visited the Hydro-Informatics Institute (HII) on Wednesday to review its latest analyses.
According to the institute’s findings, heavy rainfall is likely to occur earlier this year, increasing the risk of severe flooding.
Mr Borwornsak added that the scientific projections coincidentally align with predictions made by the revered monk Luang Pu Maha Sila, as well as astrological forecasts.
“Both scientific analysis and traditional predictions are pointing in the same direction,” he said.
“We must be prepared. Rainfall is expected to be particularly intense at the beginning of the season.”
He also warned that Hat Yai district in Songkhla province could again face serious flooding between October and December, the same period in which it was devastated by major floods last year.
Mr Borwornsak stressed that the task force must integrate data from multiple sources, including studies by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica), the HII, and academic research commissioned by the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation.
He said the outcome of the task force’s work must go beyond academic reports and translate into concrete operational plans, with clearly defined responsibilities and chains of command.
There is a need for practical guidelines specifying which agencies are responsible for each stage of disaster management, from weather forecasting and rainfall monitoring to early warning issuance, evacuations and the establishment of a single command centre, he said.
“Time is running short,” Mr Borwornsak warned. “If a disaster on the scale of 2025 happens again, there can be no excuses. It would mean we failed to learn from past crises.”