Rain in Singapore causes flash floods in the east

Straits Times 31 Jan 11;

HEAVY rain drenched most of the island yesterday, causing flash floods in at least five areas, mostly in the east.

National water agency PUB said it received reports of floods on the Tampines Expressway slip road at Tampines Avenue 12 and near the Punggol exit, Airport Boulevard, one stretch of Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5 and Changi Village.

Upon checking these sites, its officers found localised chokes in the drainage along Airport Boulevard, Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5 and in Changi Village. Lanes along Airport Boulevard and at the junction of Tampines avenues 9 and 12 had to be closed for one to two hours.

At Block 384A in Tampines Street 32, a multi-storey carpark that was shin-deep in water, workers were pumping out water from its basement level.

Although the rain yesterday was islandwide, the eastern area around Changi and Pulau Ubin was the wettest. As at 7.50pm yesterday, 200.8mm of rain had pelted down on Pulau Ubin, and 178mm in Changi.

The usual 'hot spots' - Bukit Timah and Upper Thomson - were spared from floods yesterday, as was Orchard Road, parts of which went under water twice in the middle of last year.

Bridge under construction at Punggol The Waterway collapses

A partially completed bridge at the construction site opposite his house collapsed under the weight of rainwater on Sunday morning, reported The Straits Times Reader Simon Low who took and sent in a picture from his flat in Block 638b Punggol Drive.

In an email report to The Straits Times website, Mr Low wrote: 'This morning, I noticed part of the bridge had collapsed due to the heavy rain.

'I believe the bridge also acted as a dam, but the water overflowed (from the right side) the partially built bridge, and pushed the bridge away.

'The banks of the waterway on the right side of the bridge overflowed due to this morning's heavy rain. I wonder whether it will happen again once the waterway is fully completed.'

Wet weekend
Today Online 31 Jan 11;

Incessant rain over the weekend caused flooding in many places in the eastern and north-eastern areas of the city.

Singapore's Meteorological Services Division said widespread moderate to heavy rain was expected to end yesterday.

According to PUB, flash floods occurred yesterday in several areas, including Airport Boulevard, Changi Village, the slip road near Tampines Avenue 12, TPE slip road near the Punggol exit and Ang Mo Kio Ave 5 leading to Buangkok Green industrial Park. The rain also flooded the basement of a multi-storey carpark at Tampines Street 32.

The National Environment Agency (NEA) said current conditions were not expected to last until the Chinese New Year period this week. However, it has forecast short duration showers over the holidays.

The weather forecast for next week will be released today, the NEA said.

Flash floods in several areas
Channel NewsAsia 30 Jan 11;

SINGAPORE: The PUB said flash floods had occurred in several areas on Sunday, amid continued widespread moderate to heavy rain.

These areas included Airport Boulevard, Changi Village, the slip road near Tampines Avenue 12, the TPE slip road near the Punggol exit, and Ang Mo Kio Ave 5, leading to Buangkok Green industrial Park.

The Singapore's Meteorological Services Division said the rain was expected to continue till midnight.

PUB said earlier that flash floods may occur in low-lying areas in the event of heavy rain.

-CNA/ac/wk


Expect a wet CNY weekend
Gerrard Lai my paper AsiaOne 31 Jan 11;

REMEMBER to take along an umbrella when you make your Chinese New Year rounds later this week.

Wet weather over the weekend is expected to continue into the week, with "short-duration showers" forecast in the afternoons from tomorrow to Friday, said the National Environment Agency (NEA) yesterday.

Heavy rain last Saturday caused flooding in several parts of Singapore, including Tampines, Punggol and Changi Village, said national water agency PUB.

The rain also caused the temporary closure of some roads. Two of four lanes of Airport Boulevard Road, leading to the airport, were closed for less than two hours, police said.

As traffic was light at the time of the road closure, vehicle movement was largely unaffected, said a police spokesman.

Other roads affected by the flood included the slip road leading to Tampines Expressway (TPE) near Tampines Avenue 12, as well as Punggol Road near the Punggol exit along the TPE.

Elsewhere, Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5 and Airport Boulevard Road were also flooded for between 10 minutes and an hour, said PUB.

Explaining the cause of the floods, PUB officers told my paper that the heavy rain had swept fallen leaves, among other things, into the grating of drain inlets by the roads. This prevents the rainwater from flowing into the drains.

Meanwhile, several residents who had parked their vehicles at the basement level of a multi- storey carpark at Block 384A, Tampines Street 32, woke up to find their set of wheels sitting in water yesterday morning.

The carpark basement was flooded as early as 8pm last Saturday and the water level "surged to as high as mid-shin level", said technician Hadi Ahmad, 54.

Another resident, Mr Mohamad Fitri, could not use his motorbike yesterday, as it was parked in the basement.

Said the 45-year-old aircraft technician: "I hope to retrieve my bike...after the water subsides."

However, he could still use his car which was parked at a higher level of the carpark.

In its response to my paper queries, NEA said that the region has been "experiencing the effects of a North-east Monsoon surge" for the past few days.

This refers to a surge of cold air from an intense high-pressure area over Northern China, which results in a strengthening of winds over the region, said NEA.

That brings "widespread moderate to heavy rain and occasionally windy conditions to Singapore", the agency said.