Flooding in Singapore: comments, editorials, responses

Experts suggest green measures to combat floods
Alvina Soh, Lim Zhi Ying Channel NewsAsia 20 Jul 10;

SINGAPORE : Experts say the recent flooding has again shown why it is important to manage the environment and embrace green buildings.

One solution lies in the rooftop gardens that some buildings have.

They can function as catchment areas to store water and reduce the risk of flooding.

Experts say such features should be incorporated into the building designs.

Jason Pomeroy, director of Broadway Malyan Asia, said: "If we consider one square metre of ground coverage or rooftop coverage can actually hold 6 litres of water, that's considerable.

"So if we can start to see a greater embracing of rooftop gardens as well as gardens on the ground, what this can actually mean is that we're minimising the rainwater run off the buildings...

"We are mitigating the issue of hard surfaces within the tall building structures and therefore reduce the loading to the store water drainage. And that in essence basically means we are going to have less of a flood risk."

- CNA/al

Floods call for broad response
Rethink and action required before next flood brings casualties
Chua Mui Hoong, Straits Times 21 Jul 10;

I SURVIVED the 1969 floods.

Family folklore had it that my mother snatched me, a babe in arms, and scrambled up to the attic of our Bukit Timah kampung house to join my siblings, who had clambered to safety. The flood waters submerged the first floor.

'Your father swam around saving our belongings. And I remember a snake that climbed up the altar and twined itself on the pillar for safety,' my mother said.

That story about the December 1969 floods, Singapore's second worst, became part of our family mythology, bringing to life an old Singapore - poverty-stricken, flood-prone, messy - far removed from the efficient metropolis of today.

Then I saw on the front of The Sunday Times last weekend a picture of a car submerged in the basement carpark of Tessarina, a condominium in Bukit Timah where I had lived for some years. 'That could have been my car,' I thought.

So, has Singapore returned to another era of flooding in the remaining vulnerable areas? With three floods in just over a month, affected Singaporeans are asking if they should brace themselves for a new diluvian period. This sentiment draws from statements from government ministers that some flooding is inevitable in a tropical island city-state. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Environment and Water Resources Minister Yaacob Ibrahim have both said it is not realistic to expect a flood-free Singapore.

Of course, the question is what level of flooding is acceptable - now. Three or four decades ago, flooding was an accepted part of life here. The worst floods took place in 1978, causing the deaths of seven people. That was when the highest rainfall was recorded in Singapore over 24 hours: 512mm.

The second highest was 467mm in 1969, and the third worst was 366mm in 2006.

In the last month or so, there have been three floods. The June 16 shocker that saw Orchard Road in knee-high muddy water was the result of 100mm of rain within two hours over the Stamford Canal catchment area.

The June 25 flood occurred after a rainfall of up to 100mm within two hours. And then last Saturday, rainfall of more than 180mm fell in the central and eastern areas over two hours.

Singaporeans are mindful that the three worst floods in 1969, 1978 and 2006 all took place during the traditional rainy monsoon season in December.

If the drainage system in flood-prone areas is literally bursting at its seams in June and July, how would it function during the rainy season? Or should Singaporeans brace themselves for floods like those of 30, 40 years ago?

To be fair to the Government and the national water agency PUB, they have done a sterling job eradicating the flood menace, so much so that an overflowing longkang is more likely to cause excitement among children these days than fear of drowning. More than $2 billion has been spent to upgrade drainage, reducing flood-prone areas from 3,178ha to 66ha today.

Given this record, the PUB and its parent Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources (MEWR) might have let their guard down against floods in an area like Orchard Road.

The water agency has now acknowledged that drainage systems need to be reviewed and beefed up. No matter what is done, however, the fact is that weather is volatile. Throw in climate change, urbanisation and concretisation leading to the increase of run-off water into drains, canal diversions due to redevelopment, and even a rise in littering that clogs drains - and you get a recipe for unpredictable water flows.

The simple truth is that the PUB was caught off-guard by the recent spate of floods. To my mind, this is understandable. Indeed, the entire country was caught off-guard on June 16.

A clogged drain was fingered as the cause of the flood a few days after the event. But on Monday, PUB said further investigations showed that it was a capacity issue: The Stamford Canal simply could not cope with two heavy bouts of rain.

In this 'perfect storm' situation, could it be that Singapore's very competent water agency was not altogether on top of the issue initially? What matters now is Singapore's collective ability to deal with the bigger picture, as other novel situations might occur in the future.

The floods have become a larger problem that goes beyond the PUB and MEWR. A broader-based response is in order, in keeping with a state that prides itself on a whole-of-government approach to problems.

Citizens upset over delayed travel, ruined cars, furniture or goods want assurance that the floods are being tackled at the highest levels of government. There is no quick fix to prevent floods. But how can Singapore prepare better for the next one, which may be worse?

It is not enough to say floods are inevitable, and to ask PUB to conduct more dialogues with property owners and residents.

After three floods, Singaporeans are asking what level of flooding they should learn to cope with. Flood prevention, of course, involves costs and benefits.

Singapore might learn from the Netherlands, which developed a conceptual framework called the 'Delta norm' to ascertain if expensive flood prevention systems should be built. This identifies flood-prone areas, assigns a risk of catastrophic flooding and estimates the cost of such damage.

Is it worthwhile spending hundreds of millions of dollars to prevent a flood that may occur just once in 50 years? Perhaps the answer is 'yes', if there is a risk to many lives, damage to property in the millions of dollars and reputational risk.

More pertinently, what if that 'once-in-50 years' statistic is now outdated, and it is more like 'once-in-10 years'?

Typhoons and squalls that cause severe havoc elsewhere unleash relatively mild flash floods here. Three floods in 32 days causing property damage and a lot of inconvenience - and no loss of life - do not amount to calamities. But people falling into an open raging drain in the next flood could change that.


Floods call for fast-disbursing financial help
Business Times 21 Jul 10;

MORE than a month has passed since Orchard Road was hit by an intense storm that caused millions of dollars of damage to businesses and disrupted their operations.

Many are still struggling to get back on their feet. Some are unclear if - and how much of - their losses they will be able to recover through insurance claims. Others lament that their building's management committees have largely kept mum so far on possible compensation and measures to prevent a repeat of the ordeal.

Until then, retailers are bracing for the onset of more flash floods, with the popular shopping belt now a designated flooding hot spot. Orchard Road was not spared by another torrential downpour last Saturday, and another bout of heavy rainfall yesterday afternoon did little to soothe the nerves of worried retailers.

On Monday, the Environment and Water Resources Ministry rolled out some plans to tackle the problem, among them speeding up drainage work in various flood-prone areas, inviting businesses to participate in an early-warning-alert SMS system and increasing the number of water level sensors five-fold to 150 by next year. While these preventive measures are welcome, more could be done, especially to help businesses and retailers affected by the floods. The General Insurance Association of Singapore said on Monday that it estimated claims for the June 16 flood will be at least $8 million - a figure that is likely to rise as more people submit their claims in the coming weeks. How long they will have to wait for payouts, however, is unknown.

It is time to explore the feasibility of putting in place an emergency fund, which can provide immediate financial assistance to those affected in the event of future flash foods or other natural disasters. Such assistance would provide welcome relief for, especially, small businesses which need instant funds to carry out repairs or restock their inventories - which in some cases were washed away during the recent floods.

The fund could also be used to quickly help those in distress, such as the family of the unfortunate man who was killed along Yio Chu Kang Road yesterday when a tree fell and hit the car he was in during the heavy downpour. The amounts disbursed can later be adjusted against insurance claims or other forms of compensation when those are paid out. The great merit of such a fund would be its ability to disburse funds rapidly when they are most needed.

The government has shown it can act quickly when the situation warrants. Last year, for instance, it brought forward the annual Budget and rolled out a $20.5 billion stimulus package to help businesses and workers weather the downturn. And when Sars hit the region back in 2003, the Courage Fund was set up within weeks to provide relief to victims and healthcare workers.

Flooding problems are not new, but the intensity and scale of the recent floods have caught many off-guard. Providing quick financial assistance could make the vital difference in determining the well-being - and, in some cases, survival - of businesses that are affected.

All eyes on flood hot spot Orchard
Straits Times 21 Jul 10;

THE PUB pinpointed a culvert choked with debris as the cause of the June 16 flash flood in Orchard Road that shut down commerce in some sections. There was little reason to doubt the water agency's evaluation, although public mutterings hinted at serious shortcomings in the drainage capacity. This has turned out to be the case: Singaporeans now know it wasn't just a blockage but that the Stamford Canal could not drain away fast enough the runoff from two bouts of heavy rainfall that morning. From what was first diagnosed as a blockage, a process matter, to under-capacity, a design issue, is quite a traversal. Floodwaters subsided within an hour, an indication existing capacity could cope with normal rainfall but not storm surges. It is prudent to be prepared for severe rainfall patterns.

This implies occasional flash floods could still immobilise parts of the Orchard shops and hotels belt until the canal is widened or deepened. Either procedure will take time to execute. The engineers should consider designing into the improvements a surplus carrying capacity to take account of abnormal rainfall. Lack of a margin has been established as a deficiency of the canal as exists. Some may wonder where else might the PUB have put a foot wrong. It has been brilliant at increasing water production and imaginative at converting reservoirs into scenic recreational locations. Taking care of drains and canals is not glamorous work but a slip-up can be unsettling all round, as has been shown graphically in recent weeks.

The updated assessment that Environment and Water Resources Minister Yaacob Ibrahim gave to Parliament on Monday came with an assurance that the entire drainage network will be re-examined while planned flood alleviation works will be speeded up where feasible. The public and downtown businesses will expect nothing less. Shopkeepers in Lucky Plaza and Liat Towers, the worst affected spots, have been remarkably patient considering the business losses and goods damage endured. The owners should be helped with building platforms to keep floodwaters out. Early-warning systems that the PUB has arranged for shops and condominium managements and the proliferation of flood sensors and debris traps are welcome coping measures, but prevention to a practical extent possible is the chief target to focus on.

The minister's disclosure that Singapore's flood-prone area has shrunk by 98 per cent after three decades of engineering, from 3,200ha to 66ha, still leaves some prized areas exposed. If it wasn't Orchard that went sloshing twice in two months, there might not have been as much consternation.

Residents jittery over what the next storm will bring
Leong Wee Keat Today Online 21 Jul 10;

SINGAPORE - Three days after their basements were flooded, residents of this Bukit Timah development still do not have electricity supply to their homes.

Some frustrated households at Gentle Reflections have moved to hotels and serviced apartments for $700 to $1,000 a night.

Some tenants, like Mr Adre Volschenk, have had enough. The South African plans to move out of the townhouses at Gentle Road, off Dunearn Road, once his lawyer settles the lease agreement. He has lost two cars and $15,000 worth of personal items when the flood waters came on Saturday.

"I'm not comfortable living here. My family is traumatised. My maid almost drowned in this whole thing," he said.

Domestic helper Lalaine Suratos, 30, awoke that morning to find the basement filled with ankle-high water, which rose to her chest and kept rising. "I had to jump onto a chair to stay above the water," she said.

If not for Mr Volschenk, who pulled her to safety, the maid would have drowned in the rising waters. The 30-year-old Filipina was warded at Tan Tock Seng Hospital after she complained of stomach cramps. She has since recovered.

The flood was the second in a month at the development. In the first, the waters rose to around knee height and Mr Faiek Peck is fed up with the landlord. He said: "If the owner isn't prepared to do anything, we can't risk going through this again." He has lost a Honda Stream and close to $15,000 worth of personal items.

But not all residents want out. Swiss national Frank Hemm would like to remain if the drainage issues are resolved, as his daughter attends a school in the vicinity.

When contacted yesterday about the tenants' concerns, a spokesman for the property's management said it had "given enough help" to the residents.

As it began to rain yesterday, the residents' jitters were evident.

Mr Volschenk put aside his cleaning at home and tended to the development's underground drain, which was starting to fill up with rainwater. After 10 minutes of trying, the water pump finally kicked into life.

Mr Volschenk said: "I'm just frustrated because between PUB and the management of Gentle Reflections, nobody seems to be committed to solving the obvious problem that we have over here". Leong Wee Keat

Nightmare continues after the floods
Residents left with damaged cars and homes, with some even having to move out
Jalelah Abu Baker & Hoe Pei Shan Straits Times 21 Jul 10;

The basement carpark at Gentle Reflections was flooded during the torrential morning rain on Saturday. Residents have had to move out because power has been cut. -- ST PHOTO: RAJ NADARAJAN

ONE clap of thunder yesterday afternoon was all it took to get jittery residents of the Tessarina condominium dashing down to their basement carpark to drive their cars to higher ground.

Worried by the prospect of more flooding in the area, security personnel at the Wilby Road dwelling, off Bukit Timah Road, also brought out sandbags as a preventive measure.

There was relief all around when the gathering storm petered out, but the incident showed just how life has changed for those living in the Tessarina, a 443-unit, five-block condominium, and other developments in the area.

Call it a case of once bitten, twice shy.

Last Saturday, torrential morning rain left more than 100 cars in the Tessarina's basement carpark submerged. Similar incidents occurred at Gentle Reflections and Cluny Court.

For some developments - the Tessarina among them - it was the second time in eight months that floods have proved costly. Now, some are contemplating moving out altogether.

Others have had to make changes, such as parking their cars along external roads, instead of in the basement carpark.

For those living at the Gentle Reflections cluster of terrace houses in the Bukit Timah area, the problem is more immediate: Power to the development has been cut since Saturday, and they have had to move out.

The power supply problem is being worked on, and residents hope to move back into their homes over the next few days, but their worries do not end there.

There are still damaged cars and other possessions and big bills to worry about.

Said housewife Jennifer Tan, 47, who lives in the Tessarina: 'This is ridiculous. We are left scrambling in fear whenever there are signs of rain, and there are not that many parking spaces on higher ground for all of us, so it is a mad rush for dry spots.

'I have lived here for seven years and have never had this problem until last November's floods. What is going on, and why is nothing being done?'

South African Adre Volschenk feels much the same way.

The electrical engineer, who lives at the Gentle Reflections development, described Saturday's floods as an 'absolute nightmare'.

He has moved to a serviced apartment at Fraser Suites with his wife and two young children, but is not planning to go back to his old home, even though he has eight months left on his lease and could be made to pay $90,000 if his landlord puts her foot down.

Meanwhile, his bills are piling up:

The serviced apartment costs him $1,000 a night, said the 43-year-old, and '€4,000 (S$7,100) has gone down the chute because I have not gone to work, and I might have to spend $130,000 on a new car'.

Mr Volschenk lost two cars in the flood - his Honda CRV and another which he had leased for work.

A resident of the Tessarina who is equally disgruntled said she is turning her back on the development despite moving in just over a year ago.

The 44-year-old housewife declined to be named, but said the experience had been 'extremely horrible, even worse than last year's floods', and that repairs would cost her more than $10,000.

Meanwhile, others are calling for action.

Mr Leon Foo, who owns a unit in the condominium, said he has started a petition for the estate's perimeters to be raised, and there needs to be a 'sense of urgency' in tackling the problem.

When contacted, Tessarina's management declined to comment.

TGL Development, the developer of Gentle Reflections, has made plans to put up a temporary 'floodgate' made of acrylic sheets and sandbags, said Mr Jeff Chan, the company's director.

The short-term solution will ensure gaps in the front gate are filled so that water will not gush into the basement carpark if it floods.

Tessarina resident Mrs Tan just wants something done - and fast.

'When it started raining today, I called my husband to tell him not to come back after work until it is safe so his car would not get damaged,' she said.

'How can we keep living like this when we are avoiding our own homes? They should either build a ramp or some sort of gate, and fast, before another flood hits us.'

Close Shaves
Straits Times 21 Jul 10;

Ms Suratos in her basement room, which is now empty. Her belongings have been cleared out to dry, and her employer has asked her to sleep in another room upstairs for safety. She nearly drowned last Saturday when she was trapped in the room with flood water rising to her nose. -- ST PHOTO: ASHLEIGH SIM

Stuck in basement with water up to nose

MS LALAINE Suratos was hospitalised and lost almost everything she owned in the flood last Saturday, but all this pales in comparison to the Filipino maid's near-drowning experience, when water came up to her nose.

The 30-year-old recalled with horror the events that took place in the space of about half an hour at the Gentle Reflections condominium near Newton.

The flood waters gushed through the door of her basement bedroom, which is slightly bigger than a one-room HDB flat. The pressure then locked her in, and although she stood on a chair, the 1.6m-tall woman had to keep jumping to keep her nose out of the water.

Once she managed to open her room door, she made a beeline for the flight of stairs connecting her room to her employer's - but not before she swallowed some of the muddy water.

The normally calm woman said she could not recall how long her horror lasted. She only remembers it being pitch-black due to the power having been cut.

Ms Suratos, who has been working in Singapore for about three years, said she lost her valuables - jewellery, money and clothes.

'Everything is gone. I only have my life left,' said the mother of three daughters back in the Philippines. She has chosen to stay at her employers' residence while they are staying at temporary accommodation until repairs are made.

Another Filipino maid who lives opposite Ms Suratos was so desperate to escape the flash flood that she swung a hanger attached to a blanket to try to hook it around a tree outside her room. Ms Maria Teresa Memita, 32, was hoping to use it to climb up the wall and escape. She did not manage to, and was eventually pulled to safety by her employer.

Investor hit by wave, 'like tsunami'

RESIDENTS at cluster estate King's 8 near Farrer Road were not spared Saturday's deluge. One of them, Mr Jimmy Leong, had a nasty wake-up call at around 5.30am.

The 42-year-old investor woke up to a power outage and loud banging on his basement door that opens into a carpark on the same level.

Thinking it was a neighbour in distress, he made his way down, only to open the door to a roaring gush of water that threw him back against a table.

'It was like being hit by a tsunami - everything happened so fast and the rain was not letting up at all, as if there would be no end to the water,' recalled Mr Leong.

Panicking as waist-high water filled the entire basement floor of the house, he tried desperately to shut out the flood, but the force of the water broke the door and even fractured his right middle finger.

Fumbling in the water that rose to around 2.6m in less than half an hour, Mr Leong yelled to his wife to take their month-old baby girl upstairs to safety, and tried his best to salvage what he could from the basement.

But he soon gave up and clambered back to the first floor, watching in dismay as all their precious family pictures, videos and late family members' belongings floated out of the house.

Mr Leong's wife alerted the police and SCDF to the flood at about 6am, but the family was told the authorities were short-handed, and by the time help arrived, the entire basement level was filled to the ceiling, and the water was just inches away from the main floor.

Said Mr Leong, who estimates the flood caused about $2 million worth of damage, which includes two Audis: 'If I had been knocked out by the first impact, I could have drowned, or worse still, if my wife who was feeding our new baby at the time had been the one opening the door... Something has to be done. We can't live here anymore - there is no power, and we do not feel safe.'

HOE PEI SHAN & JALELAH ABU BAKER