Government to Expand Flood Relief Budget by 10.5 Billion Baht
The government plans to increase the flood relief budget by 10.5 billion baht after opposition criticism that current funds are nearly exhausted. The request will be submitted to the cabinet on October 20, 2026, for approval using the next fiscal year's central budget. Officials say aid payments will continue without interruption.
On October 17, 2026, Nirut Phongsithiwal, Director-General of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, responded to opposition MPs who claimed the flood relief budget calculations were flawed. He stressed that funding requests must be based on the actual number of affected households reported by provinces and Bangkok, and cannot exceed the facts. The government had approved a central budget of 5,281.6556 million baht for 66 provinces and Bangkok to assist flood victims, to be disbursed promptly. He outlined previous cabinet approvals: on August 25, 549,989,000 baht for 60,971 households in 41 provinces; on September 29, an additional 4,731,666,600 baht for 553,780 households in 24 provinces and Bangkok; and on October 6, the inclusion of Samut Songkhram province. Phongsithiwal noted that the current allocation comes from the remaining central budget of fiscal year 2026 for urgent use, and the prime minister has said that if damage increases and the budget runs short, the department may immediately request an expansion. The department is now submitting a proposal to the cabinet to raise the budget by 10,508 million baht, which would cover about 1,481,401 households, for consideration on October 20, 2026, using the fiscal year 2027 central budget. He urged the public to trust that the department, the Ministry of Interior, and the government have planned spending carefully and swiftly, so aid delivery will not be disrupted. So far, of the 5,281.6556 million baht allocated, 5,225.249 million has been spent, leaving a balance of 66.4066 million baht.
