Adina, 24, in the middle of the chaos: "Worried, people are shocked"

Thailand
Adina, 24, in the midst of rain chaos in Thailand: "The clothes are mouldering"

Nora Fernstedt

Updated 20.30 | Published 20.30
 

Quick version

• Southern Thailand, including tourist islands such as Koh Phangan, has been hit by heavy flooding that has caused difficulties to get around and water has entered several buildings.
• Authorities have warned of continued heavy rain in nine provinces, and so far two deaths have been reported in areas such as Surat Thani and Nakhon Si Thammarat.
•  The mood on the ground is uneasy, with people expressing shock at unexpected weather conditions resembling severe storms.

Adina Lönn ended up in the middle of the flood chaos on Koh Phangan. Photo: Private

Southern Thailand has been hit by severe flooding.

Swedish Adina Lönn, 24, is in the middle of the chaos on the island of Koh Phangan.

- We haven't dared to go out on the roads, she says.

Adina Lönn, 24, from Söderhamn has been on Koh Phangan in southern Thailand since the beginning of October.

She has visited the island several times before and is used to the rainy season lasting between October and November. Now it was thought that this season was over.

But a few days ago, the heavens opened again – completely.

- It's completely insane. I know many people who have lived here for several years who say that it hasn't been this bad in four years, she says.

One day it rained for a day straight.

- It's so humid here too, so everything gets wet. The clothes are getting moldy and my shoes are moldy. It never dries.

People are forced to wade through the bodies of water. Photo: Kriya Tehtanee/AP

"Anxious mood"

She says that it is basically impossible to get around on the flooded roads.

- You see tourists who tried to drive a moped through the bodies of water. But then the mopeds stop working, so then they have to walk with the mopeds through the water.

Rescue workers have had to go around by boat to distribute food to residents in Narathiwat. Photo: Kriya Tehtanee/AP

Adina says that the water got into several houses.

- Right now we are staying at a yoga retreat, me and my mother who is visiting. They have had to evacuate some people because water has entered the rooms. A friend has a roof that flew down onto the balcony. It is also very stormy, and in the evenings there is lightning and thunder.
 

How is the atmosphere?

- That's what everyone was talking about, when will it end? It's an anxious mood and people are shocked that it's coming now. You don't expect that.

Two deaths

The Bangkok Post writes that the floods have hit parts of southern Thailand hard.

Authorities have issued a warning for heavy rain from Saturday to Monday in nine provinces.

The mopeds do not work in the water, so many tourists have had to wade out with the vehicles. Photo: Private

Two deaths have been reported in the provinces of Surat Thani and Nakhon Si Thammarat, where Swedish paradises such as Koh Phangan, Ko Samui and Ko Tao are located.

- There I know that they have had to go by boat and evacuate, says Adina.
 

Are you worried?

- If I hadn't had my mother here and a "community", if I had been here alone for the first time, then I would have been worried.