Worst in area since 1984; losses likely to run into millions of dollars
Grace Chua Straits Times 17 Jun 10;
THERE were no sales, just splash at some parts of Orchard Road yesterday morning when a flood turned roads into tea-coloured canals within three hours, from 8am.
A whopping 101mm of rain - about 60 per cent of what normally falls in the entire month of June - led to flash floods in several other areas too.
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The prime shopping belt, Orchard Road, was the worst-hit, but flooding was also reported in Bukit Timah Road, Veerasamy Road in Little India, and Thomson Road.
Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) officers had to be deployed to help people off buses and stalled cars.
Yesterday's flood was the worst in Orchard Road since the area's main drainage artery, Stamford Canal, was widened in 1984, said the national water agency, PUB.
Retailers estimate losses from flood damage to be in the millions of dollars.
The PUB said at a press conference yesterday that it was still probing the cause of the floods.
Its focus will be on 'localised drainage' in Orchard Road.
The flash floods also caused traffic chaos. A tree which fell and blocked off all three lanes near the Buyong Road exit on the Central Expressway caused the worst incident, a two-hour snarl.
But it was the area around the Scotts Road-Paterson Road shopping nexus that bore the brunt of the storm's ferocity.
Retailers at Liat Towers and Lucky Plaza were inundated, with water reaching waist-high in some places.
The flood waters spilled into underground carparks, soiled luxury handbags costing thousands of dollars at the Hermes boutique, and rendered equipment and furnishings at the three-day-old Wendy's restaurant useless.
Stores at Lucky Plaza were not spared either, and retailers there said the flooding was the worst they had seen in years.
PUB said 'heavy and intense' rainfall began at 8am, with two peaks at 9.15am and 10.30am. The second storm was more intense, it said.
It said it began mobilising staff and contractors at known flooding-prone areas, such as Cuscaden Road, Wilby Road, and Little India, when it began raining.
The Traffic Police were also notified.
With the rain continuing to beat down, a floodgate was opened at the Upper Bukit Timah Road area. Alerts were sent to condominium managements when sensors in the area picked up fast-rising water.
As a result, the area was spared the worst of the flooding.
Only the Cluny Court, Serene Centre and Coronation areas were affected, though the impact was far less than that experienced last November, when numerous underground carparks were flooded, damaging occupants' luxury cars.
Over at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, rainwater leaked through the roof causing play on one of the four badminton courts to be suspended for most of the second day of the Li-Ning Singapore Open.
Similar floods hit Liat Towers and the Orchard Road area in 2007, when 99mm of rainfall coincided with an afternoon high tide.
Then, the Marina Barrage was being touted as being able to relieve flash floods in low-lying areas when the tidal barrier came into operation in 2008.
But Mr Yap Kheng Guan, the PUB's director of its 3P (public, private and people) Network department, said Marina Barrage was not to blame for yesterday's flood - water levels at Marina Reservoir were normal, and six of the dam's nine gates were open. Tide tables also showed low tides at that time.
Nor was Stamford Canal at fault, as it had not overflowed.
'What we are looking at is the localised drainage,' Mr Yap said, referring to smaller drains in the area, which could have been clogged.
But when it was pointed out that such drains are cleared of debris as often as needed, sometimes daily, Mr Yap said that typically, buildings and construction do increase the amount of water running into drains from paved areas.
Asked if construction of several new buildings along Orchard Road might have had an impact, Mr Yap disagreed.
He said such development had been anticipated when Stamford Canal was widened, and such 'preventive drainage' infrastructure is put in place before new towns and industrial estates are built.
Singapore Retailers' Association president Jannie Tay, whose Mercedes-Benz car was trapped in the flooded basement carpark of Tong Building, had her own take on the flooding.
'It can't be just from the rain,' she said. 'There must be a blockage or a drainage problem.' She suggested that construction in the area might be responsible.
Meanwhile, flood waters in the area subsided and clean-up crews such as Wendy's 12-man team were working overnight to get things back to normal.
Ms Patrina Tan, senior vice-president of retail, marketing and leasing at hospitality group Overseas Union Enterprise, said the transformation from flooded zone to damp mess was abrupt.
Describing SCDF officers pumping water from flooded parts of Orchard Road, she said: 'The water was only on the walkway for close to an hour. Then, as if someone had pulled the stopper out of the bathtub, the water found its outlet and the cars drove off.'
The National Environment Agency (NEA), meanwhile, says more wet days will follow.
It said yesterday's showers were caused by winds converging over Singapore, bringing unstable weather conditions and heavy rain clouds.
It added: 'Although the south-west monsoon months of June to September are characterised by relatively dry weather, it is still possible for Singapore to experience such intense showers from time to time.'
It said showers with thunder can be expected between the morning and early afternoon for the next few days, continuing a streak of soggy mornings that began on Tuesday.
Weather reports are available at NEA's weather forecast hotline at 6542-7788, its website at www.nea.gov.sg or the mobile weather service Weather@SG at weather.nea.gov.sg
Retailers face losses 'in the millions'
Luxury retailer Hermes and three-day-old Wendy's among those hit
Ng Kai Ling & Lim Wei Chean Straits Times 17 Jun 10;
FROM handbags costing thousands of dollars to $10 toiletries, a wide range of wares was destroyed in a flash by the flood that hit Orchard Road yesterday.
Add to that the cost of furnishings and equipment, and retailers say they are looking at millions of dollars in losses.
Among the worst-hit stores were luxury goods retailer Hermes, apparel house Massimo Dutti and three-day-old fast-food restaurant Wendy's, all at Liat Towers.
But stores at Lucky Plaza - including a Watsons outlet and a myriad of shops stocking everything from mobile phones to computer peripherals - also suffered heavy losses.
Retailers there said it was the worst instance of flooding they had seen in years, adding that they should know - the basement of the building floods every year, they said.
Some said they had lost between $8,000 and $10,000 worth of goods.
Mr Albert Lee, the owner of a shoe shop there, estimated his losses at $8,000.
'The water this morning was ankle-deep. It came in so quickly, I couldn't move my things in time,' said Mr Lee.
A neighbouring unit fared worse.
Sales assistant Randy Tan said flood water had destroyed about $10,000 worth of goods at the electronics shop where he works.
'Our cellphones, games consoles and other computer accessories were damaged. I'm not sure whether our insurance covers water damage from flooding,' he said.
A McDonald's restaurant and the Watsons outlet fared much worse, however.
Both were submerged in knee-deep water, and by 5pm - several hours after the worst of the flooding had receded elsewhere - bottles of moisturiser and other sundries could still be seen floating in ankle-deep water at Watsons.
The store's senior marketing manager, Ms Irene Lau, said she was still assessing the damage.
However, it is likely that - in terms of monetary losses at least - the shops at Liat Towers emerged the big losers.
At the Wendy's outlet, which opened on Monday, for instance, $500,000 worth of furnishings and equipment was destroyed.
Wendy's spokesman Goh Wee Ling said food preparation equipment, the IT system and even the seats had been damaged.
It is back to the drawing board for Wendy's.
Clean-up crews are working round the clock at the store, and it may have to remain shut for up to two weeks.
It was much the same story with neighbours Massimo Dutti, Hermes and Starbucks Coffee.
The latter said it had not been able to assess the damage yet, but would be closed for an unknown period of time.
A spokesman for RSH Limited, which runs Massimo Dutti at Liat Towers, did not say how much damage had been caused, but said it was 'adequately insured'.
At the Hermes boutique, a lone Birkin handbag, which costs at least $8,000, remained on a high shelf in the shop window.
Many other bags, along with pricey scarves and leather belts, were damaged.
The store 'is still in the midst of surveying the damage', said marketing director for Hermes Singapore Madeleine Ho.
When contacted, the Singapore Retailers Association and the Orchard Road Business Association (Orba) said it was still too early to tell the full extent of the damage, as retailers were now focused on cleaning up.
When asked if it would be helping retailers cope with the damage, Orba chairman Sng Ngoi May said affected retailers should check with their insurers.
'It depends on their policies. Some do not cover so-called acts of God,' said Mrs Sng.
Facade turned into pool of muddy water
Alexis Cai & Sujin Thomas Straits Times 17 Jun 10;
STAFF at the three-day-old Wendy's restaurant in Liat Towers took service levels to the extreme yesterday.
When flood waters started rising above knee level, they put their customers on their backs and carried them to drier ground.
There were 14 employees working at about 10.20am when brownish rainwater started streaming in, said Wendy's business development manager Faith Wang.
About 10 customers having breakfast in the restaurant were asked by the staff to leave the premises, and those who had trouble getting out in time were carried out.
The staff also found towels from clothing store Esprit upstairs for customers to use.
Outside, passers-by took shelter at the top of the stairs outside Espirit on the second floor. Many snapped pictures as the area outside the Starbucks cafe gradually turned into a lap pool, with furniture from its outdoors area bobbing about.
Meanwhile, clothes and a sodden mannequin floated out of the Massimo Dutti store.
Next door, the Hermes store was similarly in disarray with soaked displays and items such as bags and accessories floating around inside.
Royal Sporting House Limited, which operates Massimo Dutti, said there were no customers in the store at the time.
Starbucks had six customers and six employees at the outlet. No one was injured.
By about 12.30pm, a police cordon had been set up, and Singapore Civil Defence Force officers went to work using three water pumps to drain the area.
Building cleaners picked up the debris floating in the pool, which was drained by around 3pm.
Liat Towers building supervisor Chik Hai Lam told The Straits Times that staff of the four affected stores tried to save whatever they could carry.
He added that the flood also brought down the building's switchboard and air-conditioning.
He said: 'We are doing our best to have it fixed by today so it will be up and running in the morning.'
Vain scramble to save goods
They stand on opposite sides of Orchard Road but both Lucky Plaza and Liat Towers bore the brunt of yesterday's sudden flood while the buildings around them escaped major damage.
Alexis Cai & Sujin Thomas Straits Times 17 Jun 10;
THE first sign that the day would be a bad one for Lucky Plaza retailers came at about 10.30am, when water started cascading down the stairs from the street into basement stores.
Shopkeepers scrambled to save their wares but found themselves in metre-high water just minutes later.
At that hour, only a few shops were open, with many others still setting up for the day. There are about 90 stores on that level, many of them selling electronic goods.
But that was it for the day's business.
In a bid to keep rainwater out, staff at clothing store Giordano pulled down the shop's grille shutters.
They ended up trapping themselves instead as water levels continued to rise both inside and outside the shop, and the force of the water against the shutters prevented them from being opened again.
It took eight passers-by to ram through the grilles to free the five staff members.
Optical shop owner Andy Sim, 45, said he had not even raised the shutters of his basement store when rainwater started streaming in.
'I couldn't even find the keyhole near the ground to unlock the shutter as it was submerged,' he said.
When he finally entered his shop at almost 11am, the parquet flooring was damaged and many boxes of contact lenses were soaked. The cost of the damage has yet to be tallied.
Water pumps arrived at about 3pm and drained the area within about three hours. But cleaning up went on until late into the evening.
Shopowners said that while their stores do flood on occasion, it was the most severe flooding they had witnessed in at least the last decade.
Lucky Plaza's strata management declined to comment.
Ms Angela Quek, 40, who was having breakfast with a colleague at McDonald's restaurant, was trapped for over an hour after staff pulled down the shutters in a fruitless attempt to shut out the water.
Ms Quek, who works at the nearby Mount Elizabeth Medical Centre, said that she saw shoppers helping themselves to items floating out of retail stores.
'People were picking up items such as hair accessories and perfume boxes,' she said.
Traffic chaos
Fallen tree blocks CTE, resulting in closure, tailbacks
Maria Almenoar Straits Times 17 Jun 10;
A TREE felled by the rainstorm caused a massive tailback and a partial closure of the Central Expressway (CTE) yesterday morning.
The tree fell onto the expressway just after the Kampong Java Tunnel, near Cavenagh Road, at around 11am and blocked all three lanes of the stretch of road.
In order to get the tree removed, the authorities had to close the expressway from just after the Bukit Timah exit to Upper Cross Street - a 3km stretch - for two hours.
Motorists were forced to get off the CTE at the Bukit Timah Road exit. Those who wanted to rejoin the expressway had to head for the Upper Cross Street entrance.
The result? A jam from Moulmein Road to the Bukit Timah Road exit, a distance of just over 1km.
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) could not say how many motorists had been affected by the closure, but it is likely to have had a major impact as there is normally very heavy traffic on the west-bound stretch of the CTE in the morning.
This is not the first time a section of an expressway has had to be closed because of an obstruction.
Earlier this month, a stretch of the Pan-Island Expressway towards the east was shut after an accident in which a bus skidded near Stevens Road and hit the central divider before landing on its side.
That resulted in a jam stretching from Toa Payoh to Jurong and took six hours to clear.
Several other stretches of road were also affected by heavy rain yesterday, the LTA said.
But the worst-hit areas were Orchard Road, Scotts Road and Paterson Road.
Traffic flow in this area returned to normal from about 3.30pm, it said.
Buses, taxis affected, MRT trains spared
Maria Almenoar Straits Times 17 Jun 10;
CHAOS reigned on roads in the central and northern parts of the country yesterday, as rising waters brought traffic to a near-standstill in some areas.
Road closures, stalled vehicles and tailbacks caused by slow-moving traffic and other obstructions led to much honking of horns in some parts.
Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) officers, meanwhile, were called out to help pull motorists and commuters from stranded cars and buses.
The SCDF said it dispatched two fire engines to assist about 60 passengers from two SBS Transit double-decker buses that were stuck along the junction of Paterson Road and Orchard Road. Passengers had to be helped out because the water level was too high.
The officers also helped 10 people - including some children - who were stranded in their cars to safety. No injuries were reported.
Road diversions also created havoc. SBS Transit said more than 40 bus services were also affected by the flooding.
Close to 500 buses heading to different parts of the island, including Orchard Road, Scotts Road, Farrer Road, Keppel Road and Thomson Road had to be diverted.
SBS Transit said it could not estimate how many passengers were affected by the disruptions.
There were no reports of injuries involving passengers on public transport.
None of SBS Transit's buses were damaged by flooding.
But the company's senior vice-president of corporate communications Tammy Tan said: 'Nevertheless, we will be checking the affected buses to ensure that they remain roadworthy.'
There was one mode of transport that was unaffected by yesterday's events, however.
MRT train services continued to run normally, and there were no disruptions.
This is despite the fact that several stations, such as Orchard, were underground and in the middle of a heavily flooded area.
The Land Transport Authority explained that MRT stations are designed to withstand flooding and are designed with guidelines set by the national water agency PUB for flood protection in mind.
These guidelines include requiring that entrances to stations are set at least 1m above the highest recorded flood levels in that area, it said.
Little India: Shop owners learn from experience
Area is known for flash floods, so people there are prepared
Ted Chen Straits Times 17 Jun 10;
WATER levels in Veerasamy Road in Little India, reached as high as half a metre yesterday - but previous dealings with deluges have taught shop owners and drivers there to be ready for the worst.
'It's quite well known in this area that there can be flash floods,' said Staff Sergeant Adrian Aw, of Rochor Neighbourhood Police Centre, located at the junction of Veerasamy Road and Kampong Kapor Road.
Sergeant Aw added that drivers know they have to take a different route away from Veerasamy Road during heavy downpours.
As a result, no drivers were stranded and none had to be rescued, though parked cars in the area could not be moved for about an hour yesterday morning.
Veerasamy Road, Orchard Road and Bukit Timah Road were a few areas affected by yesterday's flash floods, which saw 100mm of rain bucket down over two hours - accounting for more than 60per cent of June's monthly average rainfall.
But Veerasamy Road shopkeepers fared much better than their Orchard counterparts.
Following previous encounters with such weather conditions, staff at Tai Yong Electric Company - situated in Jalan Besar facing Veerasamy Road - now place their fans and other electronic items on platforms about 10cm off the shop floor.
'Rain usually comes in all the way to the back,' said staff member Lim Beng Hock, 62, in Mandarin.
Previous flooding incidents, such as one in April last year, had taught them to be prepared, he added.
At Tong Ah Radio and Electrical Dealers, 81-year-old Song Geok Liew was mopping up water when The Straits Times visited. The shop, which also faces Veerasamy Road, experienced minor flooding of a few centimetres.
Mr Song admitted, in Mandarin, that 'today's rain was exceptionally big and water flowed in'.
For others, like Mr Robin Ho, who owns Ho Canvas Merchant in Veerasamy Road, the water did not cause any problems. The flood was 'not too bad, because the water drained away quite quickly here', said Mr Ho.
Bukit Timah: No repeat of previous flooding
Hoe Pei Shan Straits Times 17 Jun 10;
EFFICIENT flood gate management and a new water level sensor helped ensure that Bukit Timah was yesterday spared a repeat of last November's severe flooding.
While a section of the Orchard Road area was turned into a large pool, submerging shops and halting traffic, Bukit Timah only had small isolated areas covered by muddy water that had spilled over the Bukit Timah Canal walls.
This was in contrast to how Bukit Timah Road fared last November, when a rainstorm caused large portions of the area to flood.
The Public Utilities Board (PUB) attributed the lighter effects of yesterday's rain to the opening of a canal flood gate, which helped mitigate flooding in the area.
A new water level sensor installed in the canal after last November's flood also gave sufficient warning time, and allowed the PUB to send SMS alerts to the management of condominiums located in the area when the water level sensor reached 75 per cent at about 9.30am.
Still, parts of Dunearn and Stevens Road and areas such as the junction at the entrance of the National University of Singapore's law campus and Cluny Court, at the junction of Cluny Park Road and Bukit Timah Road, were affected.
Water overflowing from the swelling canal also poured into Cluny Court's basement two level carpark, which was flooded with knee-high water at around 10am, disrupting parking services and affecting business at the retail outlets.
Cluny Court's management managed to evacuate all but one of the cars in that carpark by sending security personnel throughout the building to locate the vehicles' owners.
In-house contractors were also called to drain out the water, a task which took three hours.
Other spots along Bukit Timah Road saw flooding of more than 30cm, fully covering open drains, pavements, bus stops and two lanes of the three-laned section of the road between Evans Road and the tunnel near Coronation Road.
Cold and wet commuters waiting for buses were left huddled on the seats at bus stops as rubbish, broken tree branches and dead leaves gathered at their feet.
Meanwhile, traffic along Bukit Timah Road cleared up as the water subsided around noon.
PUB's plans to deepen and widen Bukit Timah Phase 1 Diversion Canal are still in the works, although surveying has been carried out.
The first phase of the project will double the capacity of the main Bukit Timah Canal at its junction with the diversion canal and is slated to begin in the third quarter of this year, with completion projected to be in the third quarter of 2012.
The diversion canal will then be widened and deepened in the second phase, which is scheduled to begin next year.
100mm of rain fell within 3 hours, causing floods
Joanne Chan Channel NewsAsia 16 Jun 10;
SINGAPORE: About 100 millimetres (mm) of rain fell between 8am and 11am on Wednesday, causing flash floods in some parts of Singapore.
National water agency, PUB, said the amount of rain recorded was approximately more than 60 per cent of the average monthly rainfall for June (average rainfall for June is 162mm).
When the rain first started at about 8am, PUB mobilised its contractors and staff to be on standby at hotspots including Cuscaden Road, Wilby Road, Jalan Haji Alias and Little India which were likely to flood.
It alerted Traffic Police at about 9.15am, when the rain intensified.
PUB also sent its officers and contractors to help stranded motorists, residents whose homes were flooded and owners of premises at affected locations.
At the Upper Bukit Timah area, PUB said, its officers operated the flood gate and this helped to mitigate flooding in that area.
PUB also sent SMS alerts to the management of condominiums located in the area when the water level sensor reached 75 per cent at about 9.30am.
A second more intense storm fell over the central part of Singapore at about 10.30am.
The worst-hit was the Orchard Road/Scotts Road intersection, where the flood waters reached a depth of 300 mm.
The waters subsided within one hour, at about 11.30am.
The last known major flooding at the Orchard Road/Scotts Road junction was in 1984.
PUB is investigating the cause of the flooding at Orchard Road.
It said investigations can only be carried out when the water level in the drains has fully subsided.
In the meantime, PUB and its contractors cleared up the debris on the roads as well as helped owners of affected buildings to pump out water from the basements.
PUB advised the public to exercise caution as flash floods may still occur in the event of heavy storms.
Ms Devika Misra, who was stuck at Orchard's Liat Towers because of the heavy rain, said the water was knee-high.
"Orchard Road, opposite Lido, is flooded. And there are about half a dozen cars marooned, they can't go forward. And there is a person whom I think is from the Civil Defence Service who is wading into the water to rescue the people, to get them out of the car," she said.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said they dispatched two fire engines to the junction of Orchard Road and Paterson Road.
They helped about 60 passengers from two SBS Transit double-decker buses and about 10 people from six cars stranded in their vehicles to safety. In some cases, SCDF personnel had to carry children out of the vehicles. None were injured.
SCDF personnel were also called in to pump water out of the flooded basement 1 of Liat Towers.
Alex spoke to MediaCorp from his office at Goldbell Towers, which faces the Newton MRT station.
"The water is too deep. Everyone is stopping and reversing along Bukit Timah Road."
Alex added that at least five cars broke down, and other motorists had to find alternative routes.
Other parts of Singapore were also flooded, including Coronation Road West, Fourth Avenue and Veerasamy Road.
The public can obtain the latest weather reports, including heavy rain warnings, by tuning in to radio broadcasts, calling NEA's weather forecast hotline at 6542 7788, visiting the NEA website at www.nea.gov.sg or accessing the mobile weather service.
The public can also call PUB's 24-hour Call Centre at 1800-284 6600 to report obstructions in drains or to check the flood situation. - CNA/jy/ir
Some Orchard Rd businesses reeling from flood damage
Ryan Huang Channel NewsAsia 16 Jun 10;
SINGAPORE : Some businesses in Orchard Road are reeling from the damage caused by the floods on Wednesday.
But if the retailers are counting on some form compensation from their mall management, the Orchard Road Business Association has hinted that they do not have a strong case.
Basement shop owners at Lucky Plaza were the hardest hit. Nearly half a day after the flash floods began, they are still cleaning up and counting the losses.
Many shopowners say they have seen cases of flooding in the area, but this is the worst in over 20 years.
Helen Tan, managing director, All Watches, said: "Not the first time, very bad, worst than ever before. ... Every year, at least twice."
Kartini Indrawati, owner of Eka Tunggal Enterprise, said: "Today, we didn't have any business or customers coming in. Losses for goods - about a thousand over dollars, manpower about S$300, rental today S$500. So today (we lost) about S$2,000."
Shopowners say the main damage is likely to come from the costs of replacing carpets, furniture and merchandise.
Those with parquet flooring say signs of damage will only appear after a few days. And they will need some time to assess the damage and wait for quotes from contractors.
Sunny Ng, managing director, All Watches, said: "We couldn't do business the whole day, and I believe the parquet flooring is damaged. We will have to see the contractor's quotes for repairs. ... We might have to spend a few thousand dollars."
Elton Chow, owner of Stitchwell Clothiers, said: "We can't claim, nothing can claim. We've tried that before, ... when they come in, they say this damage is very minimal, you don't have enough excess, you can't claim, so we try to pick whatever up and see what we can do."
And they cannot count on the mall management to help foot the bill, said the Orchard Road Business Association, which urged retailers to fall back on their own insurance policies.
Mrs Sng Ngoi May, Chairman of Orchard Road Business Association (ORBA) said: "The downpour is the worst as long as we can remember. It affects malls differently.
"If the damage is within the premises, retailers have to rely on their own insurance policies. It is not under the purview of the mall's management or owners unless they have done something to contribute to the damage."
Marriot Hotel, which was in the flood area, said it was not affected. It added that none of the events that are held on its premises were cancelled.
The hotel also has contingency plans in place, in the form of suction pumps located in its basement.
Despite the wet blanket, it should be business as usual on Thursday, except for some, which will have to stay closed for the time being.
- CNA/al
Wet, wet Wednesday
Joanne Chan Today Online 17 Jun 10;
SINGAPORE - Half-submerged cars and buses, trapped passengers needing to be carried above rising waters, floating tables at cafes and a fallen tree that rendered a major expressway useless.
It was chaos in many parts of central Singapore yesterday morning as a heavy downpour triggered flash floods in several areas, including Orchard Road.
The national water agency, PUB, said almost 100mm of rain was dumped on the island between 8am and 11am yesterday - more than 60 per cent of the average monthly rainfall for June.
The junction of Orchard and Scotts Roads was the worst hit, where flood waters reached a depth of 30cm.
Ms Devika Misra, who was stranded at Liat Towers, saw Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) personnel wading in knee-deep waters to rescue pedestrians stuck in the middle of the road. SCDF personnel also helped about 60 passengers from two SBS Transit double-decker buses and about 10 people from six cars stranded in their vehicles to safety.
Even the Central Expressway (CTE) was not spared. A section of the CTE was also closed to traffic after a tree fell just after the Kampong Java Tunnel. It was re-opened at about 1pm.
The last major flood to hit the Orchard-Scotts junction was in 1984 and the Stamford Canal was later widened to prevent future flooding.
PUB's director of the 3P Network, Mr Yap Kheng Guan, said the Orchard-Scotts junction is prone to flooding because it is low-lying.
While the exact cause of the flooding was still under investigation, the Marina Barrage had been ruled out as a reason since it was operating normally, PUB said later.
When asked if Orchard Road is more prone to flooding because it is highly urbanised, Mr Yap acknowledged that the presence of more buildings would typically result in higher rain run-off.
But, he noted that in the past few decades, PUB had taken preventive measures, such as expanding the local drainage system.
And the presence of preventive measures built into the structure was the reason why the underground Orchard MRT station and passageway to Tangs Plaza remained dry despite the flooding of nearby areas.
Mr Yap said: "If you were to go to some of the MRT stations, you would have to climb a small step, reach that threshold, before going down (into the station). And that's actually something that's above the road level or surrounding ground level, and that provides protection."
By yesterday evening, businesses in the area were starting to count the cost of Wet Wednesday.
At Lucky Plaza, for example, the basement shops were among the worst hit.
Eka Tungal Enterprise owner Kartini Indrawati said she not only suffered a $2,000 loss in merchandise, but would have to fork out $3,000 to change the carpet of her souvenir shop.
Many businesses hope to recoup their losses by claiming insurance.
But the chairman of the Orchard Road Business Association, Mrs Sng Ngoi May, told MediaCorp: "If the damages are within the premises, retailers have to rely on their own (comprehensive) insurance policies. It is not under the purview of the mall's management or owners unless the latter have done something to contribute to the damages".
The floodwaters also washed out business at Starbucks and fast-food restaurant Wendy's, among other establishments, at Liat Towers.
Wendy's had opened for business on Monday but had to close yesterday because of damage to equipment and its interior, said a company spokesperson. It expects to re-open in two weeks.
Tourist Eduardo Gomez, 33, who was busy taking photographs in the area, said: "It's quite a sight - one that I never expected to see in Singapore - but these things happen, even in the most developed of places."
Additional reporting by Zulkifli Othman, Neo Chai Chin and Ephraim Seow
Freak flood silences Orchard Road tills
Businesses count the costs and insurers gear up for claims as massive downpour wreaks damage
Uma Shankari and Felda Chay Business Times 17 Jun 10;
(SINGAPORE) Businesses in Singapore's foremost shopping district found themselves under water yesterday as a massive downpour flooded the area for the first time in more than 25 years.
Water cascaded into buildings and stores at the junction of Orchard and Scotts roads, causing hundreds of thousands of dollars of damage and lost sales. Retailers and F&B outlets saw takings evaporate as shoppers and the lunchtime crowd stayed away.
'This is the heaviest and most severe flood I can recall in the area,' said Orchard Road Business Association spokesman Stephen Goh.
Almost 100mm of rain - more than 60 per cent of the monthly average for June - fell between about 9am and 11am. National water agency PUB said that flood water was up to 30cm deep at the intersection of Orchard and Scotts roads. The last major flooding at this spot was in 1984. PUB will investigate once the water level in drains subsides.
Other parts of central Singapore such as Coronation Road West, Fourth Avenue, Kings Road, Kheam Hock Road and Veerasamy Road also suffered flooding, though the water had subsided by noon.
In last November's flood in the Bukit Timah area, 92 mm of rain fell in about half an hour during lunch time. The total amount of rainfall logged in the area was 110mm - accounting for 43 per cent of the average monthly rainfall for November.
In yesterday's flooding, older Orchard Road properties such as Lucky Plaza, Liat Towers and Tong Building were hit hardest as water poured into buildings and swamped shops, carparks and some underpasses.
At Liat Towers, retailers Hermes and Massimo Dutti and F&B players Wendy's and Starbucks had to shut up shop as water started rushing into their below-ground space around 10am.
At Starbucks, flooding started just after 10am - and civil defence workers were still pumping out water at 3pm. At its height, the flood was as high as the shop's tables. 'We will assess the condition of the store after the water subsides to determine when we can re-open for business,' a spokesman said.
Wendy's is also checking damage to equipment, goods and infrastructure before deciding when to re-open. The fast-food outlet only started business at Liat Towers on Monday after $500,000 was spent on renovations. A spokesman said that Wendy's hopes to be able to resume operations in two weeks.
At Lucky Plaza, basement shops inundated, and most of the shops were still mopping up in the afternoon. Shoe shop Relantino Leathers put its damage at $7,000-$8,000, and said it may be closed for two or three days. Some hotels in the area were affected, as goods could not be delivered because loading and unloading bays were flooded.
Flooding was also reported in the Tong Building's underground carpark and the underpass between Lucky Plaza and Ngee Ann City, said the Orchard Road Business Association.
Its spokesman Mr Goh said that older buildings took the biggest hit because, unlike newer properties, their design does not prevent rainwater from overflowing into basements.
Newer properties were drenched too, though not as badly. Water seeped into the common area in Wisma Atria's first level, but this was 'promptly addressed', said Jaclyn Ng, general manager of YTL Starhill Global Property Management, which runs the retail trust that owns stakes in Wisma Atria and neighbouring mall Ngee Ann City.
Businesses will now make insurance claims to recoup the losses they suffered in the deluge.
'The Massimo Dutti store (at Liat Towers) is adequately insured,' said a spokeswoman for RSH, which handles the label in Singapore. 'There were no customers inside the store during the flash flood. All staff on duty are safe and no one was injured.'
Insurers will pay - as long as the claims are valid. The General Insurance Association of Singapore said that businesses should check their fire insurance policies - which usually cover flooding - and make sure they know what is covered or not covered before making a claim.
It is too early to assess the overall damage and level of claims, said NTUC Income's senior vice-president and general manager for general insurance Pui Phusangmook. 'In the meantime, customers can count on us to honour all policy terms relating to flood damage, and to handle their claims fairly and promptly.'
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