Life returning to normal for those affected by Saturday's flash floods

Satish Cheney Channel NewsAsia 18 Jul 10;

SINGAPORE : Life is slowly returning to normal for some of those affected by Saturday's downpour which caused flash floods in several parts of Singapore.

But for some others, it has been a loss of revenue.

Workers were still busy clearing up water from the basement car park at Cluny Court along Bukit Timah Road on Sunday afternoon.

Cluny Court also experienced an electrical outage, and tenants were told power would be restored by Sunday evening.

Shoppers who turned up were disappointed to find many outlets closed.

"(I) just have to go to another place to get a cake. Today's my mom's birthday," said one shopper.

A wine outlet that's open at Cluny Court said business has been affected by up to 70 per cent.

A staff member explained why it was able to continue without electricity.

He said: "A situation like this, the temperature will not affect the wine drastically. So one day or half day with a temperature like this, the wine can survive."

Over at the Tessarina condominium, also in Bukit Timah, residents said everything is almost back to normal.

The basement car park was re-opened after clean-up operations were completed. - CNA /ls

Recent heavy rainfalls force rats out of rat holes
By Evelyn Choo Channel NewsAsia 18 Jul 10;

SNGAPORE : The recent heavy rainfalls are suspected to have forced rats out of their homes.

In fact, in the past year, some pest control companies said business has increased 10 to 50 per cent.

And more than half of their assignments are rat exterminations.

Although it's a rare occurrence, they believe the infestation could be linked to heavy downpours.

For instance, close to 20 rat holes can be found in a 100-metre grass patch.

When water seeps into these holes, rats are forced out into the open air.

Some pest control companies suspect the environment also plays a part, since the grass patch is juxtaposed between a food court and a canal.

They are advising stallholders to maintain cleanliness of their food and the public to bag their refuse. - CNA /ls


Flash flood frustration
Mica's Lui to speak with Mewr privately
Satish Cheney Today Online 19 Jul 10;

SINGAPORE - Like many Singaporeans on Saturday morning, Acting Minister for Information, Communication and the Arts Lui Tuck Yew had his morning plans thwarted by rain and flood water.

Leaving his Telok Kurau home with his wife, he had driven 30m along the street outside his home to join the main road when he saw a car stalled in the flood. He then reversed to use the exit at the other end of the street, only to encounter deep floodwaters. With both exits blocked, Mr Lui and his wife returned home.

Mr Lui, speaking on the sidelines of a community event, said he will speak to the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources privately about conducting dialogues.

Affected residents would want to know how the PUB can alleviate the situation, he said, amid public clamour for explanation as to how such floods can occur in Singapore.

PUB has advised the public to exercise caution as flash floods may occur in the event of heavy storms, adding that the Marina Barrage gates were opened to maintain the water level at Marina Reservoir within the normal range.

But some exasperated residents wondered about the frequency of floods since the Marina Barrage became operational.

PUB will hold a media briefing today shortly before Parliament is scheduled to debate the problem.

Life slowly returned to normal yesterday for some of those affected by Saturday's downpour. Some suffered a loss of revenue as deep waters ruined goods in shops.

Yesterday morning, workers were still busy clearing water from the basement car park at Cluny Court along Bukit Timah Road.

There was intermittent rain late afternoon yesterday, but no flooding was reported.

On Saturday, close to 180mm of rain fell in the central and eastern areas of Singapore in just two hours. This is more than the average total monthly rainfall of 158.3mm for July.

Areas hit by floods included Telok Kurau and Opera Estate. Lucky Plaza was hit again, only a month after the Orchard Road flood, soaking the mall's basement outlets.

Ms Christina Lim, who owns the Singapore Gift Centre, said: "This is very bad. I feel that the management should do something about it because it has been happening too often."

It was a similar story nearby at Liat Towers.

Wendy's restaurant, whose interior was damaged by last month's flood, was swamped again even before it had reopened.

Over at Newton Circus, police were busy directing traffic while the Singapore Civil Defence Force rescued those trapped in stalled vehicles.

There was also drama of another kind when a Lianhe Wanbao photographer, taking pictures of the flood in Bukit Timah on Saturday, was handcuffed by a policeman for an hour.

A police statement later said he had not heeded the policeman's advice to move to a safer area, and was handcuffed as he endangered his and others' safety.

The photographer, Mr Goh Keng Soon, said he had asked the officer to let him take photos and denied what the statement said of him. Additional reporting by Alicia Wong and Dylan Loh

SMS warning system could Save Much Suffering
Leong Wee Keat Today Online 19 Jul 10;

They have hit parts of Singapore pretty much unannounced over the past month, the latest of these striking on Saturday at around 4am, entering homes, shops and buildings like a thief in the night.

This, however, is no petty thief. Insurers and businesses are still counting the costs of the weekend's flash floods.

The third in a month, they have made some Singaporeans even more insistent on answers from the authorities - particularly about the effectiveness of the national water agency's efforts, since preventive steps failed to save Orchard Road businesses from being flooded out again on Saturday.

After the first two flash floods on June 16 and June 25, the PUB's responses to the public have focused largely on engineering measures the Government has taken and will take in reducing flood-prone areas, apart from the frequency of maintenance checks on drains.

But such answers have been less than satisfactory to some people. Understandably so, in the case of someone like Mr Kazem Fadakar: The owner of a carpet shop in Changi Road suffered an estimated loss of $300,000 to floodwaters the first time, but even after he moved some of his prized hand-made Iranian stock to higher ground, he lost another $50,000 on Saturday.

Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, will hopefully shed more light on the issue today in Parliament, with no less than seven members having tabled questions on Singapore's ability to cope with heavy rainfall.

One measure the Government might want to consider, is how to better alert Singaporeans to impending floods, once rising water levels are detected in major canals and drains around the island.

While the preferred choice now seems to be through the traditional media - such as updates on the radio - could SMS alerts help spread the word?

This need not take time to set up. The Ministry of Defence has a notification system by which it alerts NSmen of any mobilisation exercises via their mobile and home phones. If a flashflood is imminent, PUB could leverage on the system to send out alerts to NS men, who can relay the message to family members.

This would surely result in better reaction time for businesses and homes (the flash floods on June 16 and 25 occurred before businesses opened for the day, and Saturday's occurred after people had turned in for the night).

While we receive regular SMS advertisements on our handsets, SMS warnings have not been fully utilised as a means of disseminating public information.

Surely, a simple SMS warning system makes sense as a form of civil defence preparedness. To widen the net further, alerts could go out on social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook.

The PUB could also take a leaf from another public agency that deals regularly with the public's gripes - the Land Transport Authority (LTA). The latter has lately introduced community relations officers who meet with grassroots leaders and citizens to discuss transport issues in the constituency.

Now that the maintenance of drains has been outsourced to private contractors, the PUB needs a face in the community - and boots on the ground - to work on identifying potential problems before they become the next clogged culvert in the drainage network.

Some experts say climate change may be transforming rainfall patterns and unleashing floods. As the PUB reviews whether Singapore's drainage system is structurally adequate, it must also look at how it can better communicate with residents. If no tropical island can ever be flood-free, then Singaporeans should at least be given the information as quickly as possible, to decide on the action to take to protect their property.

Lui wants PUB to explain floods to residents
Tessa Wong Straits Times 19 Jul 10;

A DAY after floods hit Singapore for the third time within five weeks, Acting Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts Lui Tuck Yew would like national water agency PUB to meet affected residents to explain the situation.

Mr Lui, an MP for Tanjong Pagar GRC, said that he would speak privately with the environment ministry about conducting on-the-ground dialogues.

'I think the most important thing is for people to have an explanation and better understanding of what the situation is, as well as to know what plans PUB has in place to alleviate the situation,' said Mr Lui, speaking on the sidelines of a community event yesterday.

He added: 'I know the PUB must be also very concerned about the situation. They are doing the best that they can. Some of the plans they have to improve the drainage will, of course, take time.

'But nonetheless I think being able to touch base with people on the ground is important at this point of time.'

He said that a few parts of his constituency, such as Cambridge Road and Dorset Road, were affected, 'worse than the two previous occasions in June'.

Mr Lui himself, together with his wife, had difficulty leaving their Telok Kurau home on Saturday morning.

'When we got out of the house, within 30m we could see a car stalled, so we quickly reversed and went the other way. We went along Lorong L, and halfway through, we said 'the water is too high', we reversed and got out as well.'

Meanwhile, one Lorong L resident plans to quit the area soon.

Pub owner Adrian Houghton, 38, who has been living in a rented house on the street with his wife and 15-year-old daughter for more than a year, wants to end his lease as soon as possible.

It was the second time his home had been flooded in the past three weeks.

Questions about the recent floods are set to dominate today's Parliament sitting.

Photographer taking flood pictures handcuffed
Straits Times 19 Jul 10;

THE flood last Saturday morning dampened the mood not just of residents afflicted by it but also that of photojournalist Shafie Goh.

The 57-year-old veteran Lianhe Wanbao photojournalist was snapping shots of the flood in the Bukit Timah area when he was told by a policeman to move away. Minutes later, he was handcuffed.

He was not wearing any media identification and police did not know he was from the Chinese press.

Mr Goh said he was asked to go only once and was about to leave when the police handcuffed him. The police, however, said that they had repeatedly asked Mr Goh to leave before they resorted to the handcuffs.

Speaking to The Straits Times yesterday, Mr Goh said he was standing on a manhole trying to get a picture of some partially submerged cars when he was told by an officer to leave.

'I told him to allow me to take one more frame and was about to walk away, when he came from behind and handcuffed me,' he said.

The police said in a statement yesterday that officers had repeatedly asked Mr Goh to move to a safe place as he was taking photographs in a dangerous position. But the man refused to comply with the request and later continued walking along the road divider, snapping pictures.

A spokesman said: 'As he was causing obstruction to the police officer in the discharge of his duties and causing danger to himself and others, the officers decided to restrain him and move him to safe ground. But the man resisted and put up a struggle.'

The officers then had to handcuff him.

Mr Goh said that although he was handcuffed for only five minutes, he had to wait an hour to have his statement taken.

Police have classified the case under Section 186 of the Penal Code, about obstructing a public servant in discharge of his public functions.

Investigations are ongoing.

MAVIS TOH