Pua district: Yotchanan braved the mud in Pua district to expedite recovery efforts for flood victims. He praised "Teacher Nan" and the rangers for their heroic rescue of over 20 people. He ordered machinery to clear the mud and pushed for an emergency budget of 100 million baht to compensate for the damage to 33 houses. He also planned a comprehensive flood mitigation system and upgraded cell broadcast infrastructure to prepare for future flooding.
According to Thai News Agency, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation, Mr. Yotsanu Wongsawat, along with his delegation, visited Nan Province to closely monitor the overall flood and flash flood situation and to expedite the recovery and relief efforts for the affected population.
The Deputy Prime Minister led a team on a trek through the mud to assess the damage and restore the community at Ban Siladaeng (Ban Fai), Silalaeng Subdistrict, Pua District. They inspected houses one by one, starting with the first house, where the floodwaters had surged in and deposited a large amount of mud. Water was still flowing through the house during the inspection. Next, they visited the second house, where they found significant damage to the surrounding area from the mud, although the main living space remained safe.
Mr. Yotchanan then traveled to the third house, which belonged to an elderly couple living together. The house had been severely damaged by mudslides that had reached the living area. As soon as Mr. Yotchanan entered, the grandmother greeted him with a smile, saying, "Oh... you're even more handsome in person!" She also expressed her gratitude that help had reached such a remote area.
As for the fourth house, the ground floor was found to be completely destroyed, filled with debris and thick mud. Residents had to temporarily move to the second floor. In addition, several other houses in the vicinity were also damaged by the floodwaters and mudslides, resulting in almost complete loss of property inside.
Yotsanan's team then traveled to the home of Teacher Nan, Paveena Karnsri, a teacher at a local school. This area had been severely impacted by the flash flood, which had filled her house and surrounding areas with mud and debris. Teacher Nan recounted her harrowing experience, saying the current suddenly changed direction and surged in, almost sweeping her away. She clung tightly to a house pillar before her father threw a rope and pulled her to safety just in time.
Because the warning system had not yet arrived and phone signals were cut off, Teacher Nan decided to use her social media to coordinate and request help. As a result, six rangers from the 32nd Ranger Regiment braved the floodwaters to rescue and evacuate over 20 vulnerable people, including the elderly and those with hearing and visual impairments, to a safe location at Wat Pa Mueang.
Mr. Yotchanan praised Teacher Nan's composure and courage, and thanked the rangers and community leaders, hailing them all as "true heroes" who dedicated themselves to saving lives in a crisis situation.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Prime Minister addressed urgent measures for area restoration, stating that he had ordered heavy machinery to be immediately brought in to clear and push mud and silt from the community, as the amount of mud was too dense for manual removal. He also coordinated with the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) to request an increase in the emergency reserve fund to 100 million baht, and is preparing to integrate funds for house repairs from the DDPM (approximately 88,000 baht) with a supplementary budget from the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security (approximately 49,000 baht) to expedite compensation payments to over 33 households that suffered severe damage.
Mr. Yotsanan also surveyed the surrounding waterways and gave an interview outlining the short-term, medium-term, and long-term structural solutions to the problem. He stated that the government, in collaboration with the Royal Irrigation Department and other relevant agencies, is preparing to implement these solutions as follows:
Water management and infrastructure - Promote the construction of small to medium-sized weirs and reservoirs in the upper areas of the northern districts to serve as water retention and retention points. This should be coupled with dredging the Nan River to increase its water-carrying capacity and constructing flood barriers in the economic zone.
Watershed forest restoration - integrated with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment through the Land Allocation Project (KTC), which stipulates that land users must participate in planting additional forests to restore watershed areas, in order to create long-term sustainability.
Enhancing the warning system with technology - Developing a mobile-based emergency warning system (Cell Broadcast) coupled with a localized automatic warning system (GOI) to send immediate alerts based on critical humidity and rainfall levels, without requiring human processing. Furthermore, utilizing One Map technology and a digital twin/GIS simulation system to create a database of risk coordinates and slope patterns. This will allow academics and key agencies to use the same indicator equations to accurately and timely warn the public in the future.