Yesterday (25 November), Natthaphong Rueangpanyawut, Leader of the People’s Party and Leader of the Opposition in the House of Representatives, together with party MPs, visited flood-affected areas in the South to monitor the situation and gather information on hardships faced by affected residents. They met evacuees at the shelters located at Prince of Songkla University and the Disaster Relief Center of the 4th Army Area at Sena Narong Camp in Hat Yai District, Songkhla Province.
Natthaphong stated that the latest situation remains worrisome, as many people are still stranded in flooded areas. Over the past two days, a large number of affected individuals have been posting and commenting across various social media platforms to ask for help. However, many can no longer be contacted due to drained phone batteries or disrupted internet signals.
Because so many people are still awaiting rescue, teams of volunteers and developers worked throughout the night gathering data from different social media platforms. AI tools were used to classify urgent cases such as patients and high-risk individuals, identify reachable phone numbers, and extract coordinates of those requesting help. Volunteers then verified and filtered the data before passing it into the jitasa.care system so that field teams could proceed with rescue operations. Last night alone, more than 20,000 messages from multiple platforms were processed and forwarded.
Natthaphong emphasized that the most critical need is a centralized information hub for coordinating rescue efforts so all sectors—government agencies, volunteers, and civic groups working on the ground—can access consistent information, avoid duplication of work, prioritize effectively, and deliver aid where it is needed most.
However, he noted that volunteer efforts are still falling short of full effectiveness due to unclear and inconsistent information. Although the government has set up an official crisis response center, it remains unclear who is actually in command—whether it is the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces or Thammanat Prompao, Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives. When urgent decisions must be made, both state agencies and volunteer groups are unsure whose directives should take precedence.
Based on feedback from residents, officials, and volunteers in the affected areas, Natthaphong said the current situation reflects a lack of clear, systematic disaster management. Confusion persists in the deployment of rescue teams, with each group working independently without unified coordination.
For this reason, he reiterated his proposal that the government’s crisis center must consolidate all information under a single coordinated system. Orders must be streamlined and consistent to maximize efficiency, enabling officials and volunteers to carry out their work effectively.
He also expressed concern about the government’s overall perspective on disaster management. Recent statements by Thammanat, claiming that the government had already warned residents but that they refused to evacuate, were not true. Before the flooding, state agencies issued vague and inconsistent messages, especially regarding whether evacuation was necessary. Clear evacuation orders came only after the flooding had already begun, making it impossible for many residents to leave. Worse still, some agencies had previously insisted the situation was “under control,” telling the public not to worry.
Even more troubling, he said, is that the government has failed to acknowledge its own mistakes in issuing unclear, inconsistent warnings, and has instead implied that residents were to blame. Rather than shifting responsibility, the government should focus on offering reassurance and moral support to affected people.
Natthaphong stressed that the urgent priorities now are:
- providing immediate assistance to flood victims, especially vulnerable groups such as bedridden patients, the elderly, and young children;
- identifying households still stranded and unable to evacuate;
- delivering medical aid and food supplies;
- assessing whether existing shelters are sufficient and preparing additional spaces in case more areas become affected.
He concluded by saying that every passing second increases the risk to people’s lives. He extended his support to affected residents and affirmed that efforts to assist them are ongoing at full capacity.