Thailand’s State Audit Office (SAO) has uncovered major shortcomings in the country’s early warning system for floods and landslides, revealing that many high-risk communities remain without coverage while thousands of low-risk villages have warning stations installed.

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The findings were released on 5 March following an audit of the effectiveness and efficiency of the Early Warning System (EWS) operated by an agency under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. The review highlighted two key issues that undermine the system’s ability to monitor hazards and warn residents in time.

The first issue concerns the installation of early warning stations failing to cover areas with genuine disaster risk. According to a database of flood and landslide prone villages compiled in 2011, Thailand has 4,423 villages identified as at risk. The audit found that 2,042 villages, or 46.17%, still lack early warning stations.

Among those without coverage are 669 villages classified as very high risk and 445 considered high risk. In contrast, the audit discovered that warning stations had been installed in 3,672 villages not listed as risk areas, representing 60.66% of installations.

Auditors attributed the mismatch partly to technological limitations that make it difficult to install stations in upstream or steep terrain. Another factor is outdated risk data, which has not been updated to reflect current conditions, leaving some vulnerable communities without timely alerts.

The second major concern relates to the system’s failure to function as intended and the limited reach of warnings among the public. An examination of 195 flood events between 2021 and 2024 found that 72.31% of incidents were not preceded by any warning signal from the stations.

In some cases, stations issued critical-level warnings even though flooding did not occur, highlighting accuracy problems within the system. The audit also found that information dissemination remains inconsistent.

Although 41.90% of residents receive alerts through community leaders, many areas still face communication signal limitations. The EWS DWR mobile application is largely unknown among the public and rarely used, while information available in the app is incomplete.

As of 31 March 2025, 264 warning stations, equivalent to 12.24% of the total 2,156 nationwide, were found to be non-operational. The most commonly damaged components include control circuit boards, signal transmission devices and processing equipment.

The audit also noted the absence of contingency plans to address situations where stations fail to function. Without backup systems, affected communities may receive no warning during critical situations.

In response to the findings, the SAO recommended that the responsible agency urgently address these issues by improving technology, updating the database of at-risk villages, and developing contingency plans for equipment failures.

The agency accepted the recommendations and outlined corrective measures on 24 November 2025. Planned actions include reviewing station placement, upgrading operational processes and technology, adjusting alert thresholds, and finding solutions for installations in steep terrain.

The Standard reported that authorities also plan to continue training officials and community networks to improve disaster preparedness. Officials say strengthening the early warning system would help reduce loss of life and property while restoring public confidence in government disaster management.

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Adapted by ASEAN Now TheStandard 6 Mar 2026

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If the audit figures are accurate, they’re deeply concerning.

This article suggests that hundreds of warning stations were inoperative and around 72% of disasters had no advance alert.

Surely, this completely undermines the purpose of an early warning system.

The obvious question for me is whether this is incompetence, poor maintenance, or corruption.

Either way, those responsible need to be held accountable.

1 hour ago, Jim Waldron said:

The obvious question for me is whether this is incompetence, poor maintenance, or corruption

Or all of the above. May as well add Tsunami to the list too!