Traffic cameras to watch for flooding in Singapore

Tania Tan, Straits Times 18 Nov 08;

CAMERAS designed to monitor traffic flow will now also keep an eye out for a different kind of congestion - flooding that comes with the year-end wet weather.

The national water agency PUB yesterday said it will tap the Land Transport Authority's 24-hour closed-circuit television system to keep track of potential flooding.

The CCTVs will surely be called to duty as the north-east monsoon bites late this month. Weathermen at the National Environment Agency (NEA) expect the rain that it brings to continue into January, including periods of exceptionally heavy downpours.

Over 560 locations islandwide, including the Orchard Road shopping strip, will be watched, and flood alerts will be sent out to motorists through the Expressway Monitoring and Advisory System (EMAS), said PUB.

Besides the CCTVs, PUB will also rely on about 20 wireless water-level sensors installed in drains and canals in flooding 'hot spots' like Neram Road off Yio Chu Kang Road.

If the water levels in these areas rise above the high-tide mark, flooding may occur. The sensors will then send out remote warning signals.

Selected PUB officers will receive SMS alerts, upon which they will personally check on the sites. If necessary, they will inform residents in the area.

PUB's director of catchment and waterways Tan Nguan Sen, noting that litter can choke up drains, said heavy rains and choked drainage systems make for a lethal combination to produce flash floods.

'It's important to keep drains and canals free-flowing during this monsoon season,' he added.

Major drains will be cleared of debris every month during the wet season, instead of every three months.

Daily inspections of smaller drains which feed the larger ones will continue to be carried out in over 90 flood-prone areas, including Little India and Geylang.

The wettest part of the island - the central part, including the Bukit Timah area - has already been drenched with about 320mm of rain in the first two weeks of this month.

With nearly two weeks more to the month, it remains to be seen whether this will be wetter than the wettest November on record - in 1874, when 521mm of rain fell.

The upside to all the rain: It has washed away the year's haze. The NEA declared haze season over for the year.

'Wetter-than-usual weather helped curb hot spot activities in Sumatra and Kalimantan, keeping the haze away from Singapore,' it said.

The hot spots come from the slash-and-burn method of farming in Sumatra, which have led to putrid smoke being blown over to Singapore by prevailing winds.

June to October is the traditional haze season here, marked by light rainfall, high temperatures and south-easterly winds which blow the smoke haze here.

Scientists at the National University of Singapore Centre for Remote Imaging, Sensing and Processing have reported 'undetectable' fire activity over the past several weeks.

'There has been heavy cloud cover over Sumatra that the satellites may not be able to see through,' said a centre spokesman.

'But clouds usually also mean rain too.'

New sensors and borrowed ‘eyes’
PUB steps up alert systems ahead of monsoon season
Today Online 18 Nov 08;

ASIDE from monitoring traffic on our roads, the Land Transport Authority’s (LTA) CCTV cameras will also be used to check on Singapore’s drainage facilities.

The Public Utilities Board (PUB) said that it is working with other national agencies, such as the LTA, to ensure that the drainage systems in tunnels and underpasses are flowing well as the North-east Monsoon season approaches.

“Tapping on LTA’s 24-hour CCTV monitoring of expressways, major road junctions and road tunnels, PUB is now able to view road conditions at over 560 locations,” said the agency. It added that it will work with the LTA to warn motorists if there is any flooding on the roads via the Expressway Monitoring and Advisory System.

In addition, the PUB has installed 20 wireless sensors to keep tabs on water levels in drains and canals in flood-prone areas.

“When the water in these drains and canals reach a certain level, alerts are sent to PUB officers who then check the sites and take action to inform residents in the areas,” said the agency.

According to the National Environment Agency’s (NEA) Meteorological Services Division, the monsoon season is likely to hit the island later this month and is expected to last until January. Singapore is likely to experience afternoon and late evening showers.

The PUB said that inspection and cleansing of 90 hotspots island-wide, including known flood-prone areas in Little India and Geylang, have increased to ensure there is no choking from fallen leaves or litter in the drains. Checks at more than 170 worksites have also intensified to ensure that the drainage system is not blocked.

“These efforts supplement PUB’s ongoing flood alleviation programme, under which recent completed projects have reduced Singapore’s flood-prone areas from 135 hectares in 2006 to 98 hectares today, about 0.15 per cent of Singapore’s total land area,” it said.

The public can obtain the latest weather forecasts by tuning in to radio broadcasts or calling the NEA for weather forecast at 6542 7788.

PUB has flood controls in place to battle monsoon season
Cheryl Frois, Channel NewsAsia 17 Nov 08;

SINGAPORE: Singapore's national water agency, the PUB is set to battle the upcoming rainy season with its best laid plans.

The national agency is working double time to ensure drains are clean and flowing freely during the upcoming monsoon season.

The northeast monsoon, which lasts from late-November till January, sees some of the island's wettest weather.

90 hotspots prone to flooding, such as Little India and Geylang, have been identified. The PUB will step up inspections in these areas in addition to having 20 wireless water level sensors installed in drains and canals.

The sensors act as an alert system for the authorities to warn residents of impending floods.

More is also being done to step up warnings to motorists. The PUB will tap on the Land Transport Authority's (LTA) 24-hour CCTV cameras to monitor major roads and expressways in over 560 locations.

Drivers will be warned through the LTA's Expressway Monitoring and Advisory System. - CNA/vm