Mustafa Shafawi/ Joanne Chan Channel NewsAsia 16 Jun 10;
SINGAPORE: The heavy downpour Wednesday morning caused flash floods in several areas.
Among the areas affected were Bukit Timah, Newton Circus and Scotts Road.
Several vehicles including buses were stuck in the flood in front of Ion Orchard.
Ms Devika Misra, who was stuck at 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."
According to an advisory issued by the Land Transport Authority, a fallen tree has caused the closure of the CTE in the direction of AYE, before the Orchard Road exit.
The American Chamber of Commerce, whose offices are across from ION Orchard, has an event planned at noon.
It's getting in touch with the speakers and attendees to warn them about the situation.
One lane along a stretch of Dunearn Road is not passable to traffic.
Another caller to the MediaCorp hotline described the situation from his office at Goldbell Towers, which faces the Newton MRT station, saying that at least five cars broke down, and other motorists had to find alternative routes.
"The water is too deep. Everyone is stopping and reversing along Bukit Timah Road."
MediaCorp's news hotline received at least 10 calls about floods on the roads.
Many office workers were late for work as traffic crawled.
The Meteorological Services Division had issued an advisory earlier to expect heavy showers with thunder and gusty winds over many areas of Singapore in the morning. - CNA/jy
