Yotsanan unveiled a roadmap at the parliament, promoting the 'Nan Model' that leverages watershed scanning technology and proposes bypass canal construction, alongside advancing the 'Nan Sandbox' to restore forests in tandem with a green economy for comprehensive, sustainable problem-solving.
On 27 Aug 2026 GMT+7, during a regular session of the House of Representatives, Prasit Notha, a member of parliament from Nan Province representing the Kla Party, raised a live question to the government regarding short-, medium-, and long-term flood mitigation strategies in northern Thailand, focusing especially on severe flooding in the Nan River basin that broadly affected residents' lives and property.
Yotsanan Wongsawat, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation, serving as chairman of the committee on flood and drought prevention in northern Thailand, responded with a detailed explanation and discussion. He outlined the overall situation from emergency response and recovery efforts to structural and environmental water management strategies for future sustainability.
He expressed gratitude and praised the cooperation among various agencies—including government bodies, private sector, military, police, volunteers, and civil society—that rapidly and cohesively mobilized to assist affected communities. He also explained the emergency management system through a Single Command center or war room, which held continuous morning and evening meetings to monitor and adjust relief plans.
"I sincerely thank the many agencies that enabled us to comprehensively support the people today, including the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, the strong provincial governors, the Meteorological Department, NSTDA, Royal Irrigation Department, various universities, vocational students, Department of Skill Development, Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, and particularly over 1,000 military personnel who brought machinery and forces from across provinces. Also involved were foundations, local administrative organizations, all members of parliament, and Thai citizens nationwide who contributed assistance. Everyone came together with the single goal of helping the Thai people," he said.
Yotsanan added that operating the war room every morning and evening allowed precise allocation of personnel, machinery, and relief units to the most critical areas. For example, in Pua District, timely military and machinery support prevented mud from drying and eased community recovery effectively.
The deputy prime minister elaborated on hydrological facts to help parliament understand the source of the massive floodwaters that inundated Nan Province this time. He noted the situation began with unprecedented heavy rainfall on 19 August, measuring up to 388 millimeters over steep mountainous terrain.
"We must understand the problem thoroughly: on 19 August, Nan experienced heavy rainfall of about 388 millimeters over mountainous areas. When water from high elevations flows downstream and some forest areas are missing, the floodwaters rush rapidly, causing severe damage in Pua District. The water then moved on to Tha Wang Pha, Santisuk, Na Muen districts, and entered Phu Phiang and Mueang Nan districts. Since the Phu Phiang riverbank is lower than the Mueang Nan side, flooding was heavier there before the water passed through Wiang Sa District and drained into Sirikit Dam," he explained.
Based on this water flow analysis, the government immediately began restoring basic infrastructure. Currently, the electricity and provincial waterworks systems have been fully restored. Village water supply has received central budget approval for support. For damaged roads, the Ministry of Transport is rapidly installing Bailey bridges connecting main routes, while the Royal Irrigation Department is expediting earthworks to repair village access roads cut off, such as in Sila Laeng Subdistrict.
Additionally, urgent relief measures per Cabinet resolutions include household living allowances of 9,000 baht, death compensation at 2 million baht per case aligned with standards used in southern floods, and emergency funds allocated to provincial governors for initial relief supplies—4,200 baht per household for kitchen utensils and 2,500 baht per person for clothing and bedding. Repair budgets for damaged homes follow the Department of Public Works and Town & Country Planning criteria, capped at 88,600 baht per household.
Regarding disaster prevention, the deputy prime minister stated the government has incorporated advanced information and telemetry technologies to fill gaps in early warning systems in mountainous areas, thereby extending preparation and evacuation time for residents.
"To address the problem, we have integrated technology because the Royal Irrigation Department's water sensors in mountainous regions are not comprehensive. We combined sensor networks from NSTDA and satellite data from various agencies with the Meteorological Department. If the system detects accumulated rainfall of 50–60 millimeters within two hours on high mountains, it processes the data and issues immediate early warnings. In high-risk areas like Pua and Mae Charim districts, residents receive two hours' notice before floodwaters reach communities, while other locations get one hour's warning. We also use boats and LiDAR technology to scan river depths and urban topography to pinpoint risks at centimeter precision, with data accessible 24/7 via Thaiwater.net," he explained.
For medium- and long-term solutions, Yotsanan presented tangible structural plans alongside strategies for upstream forest restoration and green economic development.
In the short to medium term, the government is advancing dredging projects at 18 sites along the Nan River in Mueang, Tha Wang Pha, Phu Phiang, and Wiang Sa districts within a four-month timeframe to ease bottlenecks and improve water flow. It also promotes constructing medium and small reservoirs on tributaries such as Nam Ki, Nam Lee, and Nam Kon under the 2028 fiscal budget plan.
For the long term, the government has tasked the Royal Irrigation Department to expedite feasibility studies for a 52-kilometer water diversion canal bypassing Nan city (Nan River Branch 2) to divert flood peaks away from economic and urban communities.
"We must look to the future. Sustainable solutions depend on upstream forest restoration and harmonious coexistence between people and forests through the Nan Sandbox model. Our goal is to restore 18% of upstream forests by balancing reforestation with herbal plant cultivation to generate income for residents. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Higher Education is upgrading Lanna Rajabhat University, Nan Campus, to become 'Nan University,' establishing a GMP-standard active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) extraction factory to truly drive the Green Ocean economy in the region," said the deputy prime minister and minister of higher education, science, research, and innovation.