Raining in Tanglin Mall

Chaos as shoppers, staff run for cover as water pours down from first floor
Tham Yuen-C Straits Times 6 Jun 11;

FLOOD water gushed into Tanglin Mall so quickly yesterday that the staff in health supplement store GNC had no time to save several boxes of pine bark extract placed on the bottom shelves.

The boxes of antioxidants, which sell for $400 each, were soaked through.

'We heard a sound that was like a waterfall, came out to check and saw water pouring down from the first floor. It all happened very fast,' said Ms Diana Soenarto, 26, a salesgirl at GNC.

Within three minutes, the water in the store had reached ankle-deep.

The same scenario played out at all the shops in the first floor and Basement One of the shopping centre at the junction of Tanglin Road and Grange Road.

This was among several areas hit badly by yesterday's floods.

The mall's diverter pump, which pumps out water and is located in Basement Four, broke down after being inundated.

By about 11am, the first floor had been turned into a waterfall, pouring water into the basement.

The typical Sunday morning scene of mostly grocery shoppers turned chaotic, with people scampering for cover.

A moneychanger said: 'This is the first time in 20 years that something like that has happened here. We were all running out, there was no time to do anything.'

The worst hit was the Market Place supermarket at Basement One.

Water washed in, and gushed down from the ceiling.

'When the water started cascading down the escalators into the basement of the mall, we immediately evacuated all our customers and staff out of the Market Place store. Everyone is safe and there were no injuries,' said a spokesman in a statement.

Some of the supermarket's false ceiling boards came crashing down too.

The basement carparks of the mall were also flooded, with the water level at the lowest level, Basement Four, reaching about knee-height.

Some 100 shoppers who were in the carparks when the flood started had to be evacuated to safety via the ramps by Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) officers, said an SCDF spokesman.

Shoppers who had parked their cars there were also escorted to their vehicles. By then, the ramps and two levels of the carpark had been plunged into darkness.

At about 11.45am, a civil defence officer led Mr Ryan Lee, 28, to his car using a flashlight.

'I think it was quite dangerous,' he said, after taking off his shoes and wading in ankle-deep water to his car in Basement Three, which still had light. 'I'm just glad that my car could still start.'

At about 2pm, after the water subsided, ceiling boards were strewn over the checkout counters at the Market Place, stands and goods had been knocked down, and leaves and branches had been deposited in the snack aisle at the back of the store.

The fridges in the supermarket had also been short-circuited, leaving meat and other frozen goods to thaw.

A supermarket spokesman said the store would be closed until at least today to be cleaned up, and for damage to be assessed.

At the Cedele cake shop, also at Basement One, fridges had been short-circuited, said employee Theresa Heng, 52.

Tanglin Mall centre director Jenny Ng said the mall had notified its insurers about assessing the damage, but said the focus now was on cleaning up.

'Nobody wants this to happen, we are focusing on achieving the fastest recovery and least damage, so that business can be back to normal,' she said.

The mall, which was closed yesterday by noon, is expected to re-open today.

The day it rained indoors
Sara Grosse Channel NewsAsia 5 Jun 11;

SINGAPORE: Tanglin Mall, located at the junction of Tanglin Road and Grange Road, was the worst hit by floods caused by heavy rainfall on Sunday morning.

National water agency PUB said the extent of the flood at Tanglin Mall was something it had not seen in the last 25 years.

It added this was the first time the basement of Tanglin Mall had experienced this.

Many stores had to close temporarily for clean-up.

Zhai manager Karen Foo said: "We have to rescue all our stocks first, that's the first thing. All the shops were flooded as well, and they were closing down their gates".

Family-Com salesperson Dominic Ngiam said: "The shop was flooded to about ankle-level and everyone was running around. The car park was flooded (and) cars were stuck. So everyone was frustrated (and) confused".

Shoppers who had problems getting to their cars had to wait until they were given the green light to get to the car park.

One shopper said: "We went down to (the) basement and queued to try to get out, but some other cars had turned around and come back down to the B3 level, so it was clear that it was stuck above.

"We made sure we parked the car and got the children out before the (water) level got any higher".

Floods also hit a nearby car park.

A car service company employee sent Channel NewsAsia a video of the car park at St. Regis.

He said a resident whose car was stalled had called him for assistance.

Elsewhere, other retail malls at Orchard Road had to deal with the aftermath of the flood.

The clean up at Forum Shopping Mall lasted for about two hours.

This isn't the first time the area had been affected by heavy rain, but employees who were interviewed said the flood is worse this time.

The Little Gym instructor PJ Lucero said: "The last time it happened, it was actually more mild.

"We were still able to open the facility for the day. Today (Sunday), of course, everything got submerged, that's why we had to close down.

"In fact, after the first time it happened, we had sandbags ready. We did use those sandbags today (but) it didn't work. The water just went through it".

Spinelli Coffee Company retail store manager, Forum Shopping Mall Chen Jiahui said: "This is the second time (it flooded). It's really bad, so I hope that the management are doing something about it".

PUB said the rainfall Sunday morning was more intense than that of June last year, when various parts of Orchard Road were flooded.

About 65mm of rainfall was recorded within 30 mins on Sunday morning, compared to 100mm within two hours on June 16, 2010.

-CNA/wk

Flood waters shut Tanglin Mall
Esther Ng Today Online 6 Jun 11;

SINGAPORE - It looked like a scene straight from the movies. Water cascading down escalators, filling every nook and cranny, then pouring onto the floor below like a waterfall. By 10.30am yesterday, the basement and car parks of Tanglin Mall were in knee-deep water.

At The Market Place, a supermarket in the basement, water seeped into the ceiling and caused a portion of the false ceiling above the checkout counters to collapse.

"It was quite scary - we didn't know where the water came from, it just came so fast," said cafe assistant Annie Tan.

While the shops in the basement bore the brunt of the deluge, the shops on the first level of the mall were not spared either.

Homemaker Linda Tauvel, 39, was having coffee at Starbucks when she noticed an employee mopping some water that was seeping in from under the door.

"There was no panic or drama. Everybody was calm. What I thought was amazing is that the escalators kept going and people kept on using them casually even with all the water flowing on them," she said.

The flood caught the authorities by surprise.

The national water agency Public Utilities Board (PUB) said the extent of the flood was something it had not seen at least in the last 25 years.

The PUB explained that the flash floods were caused by two bouts of heavy rainfall - the first started slightly past 6am.

The second downpour which was more intense at about 10.30am saw about 65 mm of rainfall recorded within 30 minutes.

This downpour was worse than the one on June 16 last year, which recorded about 100 mm of rainfall within two hours.

When MediaCorp arrived at Tanglin Mall at 1pm, the first floor was strewn with muddy sediment and staff in various shops were seen busy mopping their floors.

"The water on this floor was going down to the basement. It was rising rather fast and soon reached our ankles. My colleague and I got scared - we shifted some merchandise to a higher display, then grabbed our bags and left," said Ocean Paradise sales assistant Emily Chow, 22.

Mr Han Lee, who owns Kidz Story, told MediaCorp that he estimates he lost some S$6,000 worth of merchandise and about S$5,000 in fixtures.

Minister for Water Resources and the Environment Vivian Balakrishnan arrived shortly after and toured the mall which had been closed while the clean-up was in full swing.

"Safety was important - we had to cut the electric supply first to assess the situation and then put in place recovery plans and have asked on the tenants to notify their insurers," said the mall's centre director Jenny Ng.

She added that a 3-inch concrete kerb at the switchroom prevented water from entering and knocking out the mall's four transformers.

A staff from the adjoining Traders Hotel told MediaCorp that Grange Road was knee-high in water at around 10am and reckoned that traffic had pushed the water into Tanglin Mall and into the lower deck of the hotel's Cafebiz.

At 4pm yesterday, hotel staff were seen blow-drying the carpet and sweeping the debris.

Down Cuscaden Road, the basement carparks of St Regis Residences were flooded. Water had also entered House number 9, the only bungalow on the street and left a metre-high watermark. The owner's silver BMW 6 series had to be towed away earlier.

While Tanglin Mall was closed, Forum Galleria was buzzing with shoppers. The mall hardly looked like it had been flooded some hours earlier.

Still, takings for the day were affected.

Subway Niche's cashier Madam Sim estimated that the cafe lost around S$600 in those few hours, while Watson's manager totalled some S$2,000 in losses.

Yesterday's downpour caused flash floods in Bukit Timah and MacPherson as well.

At Marina Barrage, up to five gates were operated during the early part of the morning when sea tide was lower, the PUB said. Seven pumps were operated at the later part of the morning to lower the water level at Marina Reservoir, it added.

Lucky Plaza, Liat Towers 'spared'
Straits Times 6 Jun 11;

THESE shopping centres were the hardest-hit in the Orchard Road floods last year, when merchandise was swept out by flood waters.

But they escaped the worst yesterday even though Singapore's prime shopping belt was again flooded after islandwide storms.

At Liat Towers, knee-high flood barriers - installed after last year's flood turned road-level shops into mini lap pools - were activated as soon as the storms started.

Water did seep into fast-food outlet Wendy's and fashion retailer Massimo Dutti.

At Wendy's, it only reached the kitchen, rising about 3cm high. Staff said last June was far worse, when equipment, furniture and fittings were destroyed.

Newly open for business then, the outlet had to close for over a month so repair works could be done. This time, it took the staff about 30 minutes to clean up the kitchen, said a server.

At Massimo Dutti, the store manager declined to comment. When The Straits Times visited at 4.45pm, workers were vacuuming rugs and mopping floors.

Down the road in Lucky Plaza, rainwater spilled into the basement.

The carpet at Treasure Place Gift Shop was soaked, but no goods were damaged, said worker Serene Tan, 53. The shop had moved its wares off the floor since the flood last year, and this time, the water was barely 3cm high.

The building management was prepared, turning sandbags into barricades soon after rainwater began flowing into the basement.

At Fauzi Gifts, Mr Khan, who did not want to give his full name, said: 'It was way better than last time. The sandbags were in place, so it wasn't as bad. But we still lost business for an hour or so.'

THAM YUEN-C

Residents' Sunday plans dashed
Lutheran Towers condo hit; Bukit Timah Canal overflows, causing jam
Daryl Chin & Leow Si Wan Straits Times 6 Jun 11;

RESIDENTS of Lutheran Towers in Bukit Timah had a rude shock when they woke up yesterday - dirty, yellowish water was swirling all around the entrance of their condominium.

For one resident in particular, it was deja vu. Mr Toh Ah Seng, 57, owner of a car rental company, said four of his cars which were parked on the road outside the condominium were damaged by the water and had to be towed away. He estimates damages to be more than $10,000.

Last June, during another period of heavy rain and flooding, two of his cars were affected by floodwaters at the same location and repair works set him back some $7,000.

Of yesterday's downpour, he said: 'The rain and flood came so suddenly and seeped into the engine. By the time I knew what was happening, it was too late. It was knee high on the road outside and ankle deep at the entrance of the carpark.'

Other residents of the condominium in Tan Kim Cheng Road also had their plans for the day dashed. Mr Khor Eng Ghee, 75, was supposed to meet friends in Orchard Road for breakfast but one look outside his window changed his mind.

'I could not possibly drive out to the main road. In the end, I just had to wait it out and cancel on my friends,' he said.

Another resident, student Neo Yi Wei, 19, sent photographs of the flood to The Straits Times' citizen journalism website Stomp. 'I took the pictures at 11am,' he said. 'This is the first I have seen flooding here with my own eyes. I tried to go down later, but the water was very uncomfortable to wade in.' He said most of the floodwaters subsided by noon.

Another resident, salesman Jason Lee, 29, was relieved that the water did not enter the condo compound. 'That's something we can be thankful for,' he said.

Other parts of Bukit Timah were also hard hit as the Bukit Timah Canal overflowed. At the music school Academy of Rock next to Coronation Plaza, water reached the entrance of the unit.

'We were fearful the water might rise higher than the steps and come in. Thankfully, it started to slow to a drizzle soon after,' said marketing manager Affandy Senawi, 29.

Further down the road, saleswoman Jennifer Low, 39, looked on in disbelief from her office in Tan Chong Motors.

Ms Low, who has an overview of Bukit Timah Road from her office, said: 'Traffic was at a total stop for more than an hour. There was stuff floating around, and some cars seemed to be half-submerged in the water.'

The PUB said flash floods occurred at the stretch between Blackmore and Maplewood Road, affecting two out of three lanes, and forcing an hour-long road closure. It added that drainage capacity from Jalan Kampong Chantek to Maple Avenue will improve by the year end.

Said lawyer Gilbert Koh, 34, who lives in the area: 'I go overseas for work often. I can only hope that the floods don't wreck my home and car while I'm gone.'

Flood water obscures drain where teen was swept away
Straits Times 6 Jun 11;

AT THE sound of gushing water and thunder early yesterday, 20-year-old Mandalay Towers resident Kevin Don's first instinct was to tell his younger brothers not to step foot outside.

After all, the condominium off Moulmein Road is just a stone's throw from the site where Indonesian student William Lim fell into a swollen drain last week, was swept away and subsequently found drowned.

Mr Don said: 'I've told my brothers to be extra careful and not head out if they hear heavy rain or can't see the road.'

Yesterday's torrential rain also reminded others about the dangers of being in a neighbourhood where, during a flood, it becomes difficult in some places to tell where the pavement ends and the drain begins.

New railings went up last week where William fell.

In Mandalay Mansion, another condominium down the road, resident Jeffrey Lai, a 37-year-old accountant, said yesterday's flood was as bad as he had ever seen: 'The road was covered with muddy water, and all I could see were the barriers erected last week. But at least that's better than nothing.'

Besides Moulmein, flash floods also hit flood-prone MacPherson hard. The rain between 6.30am and 10am put Wan Tho Avenue, Siang Kwang Avenue, Jalan Kemboja and Puay Hee Road under water, said national water agency PUB.

MacPherson resident George Leong, a 40-year-old bank manager, said: 'When I saw how heavy the rain was, I knew I had to waterproof the first floor of my house.' He put some towels at the doors and carted some of his family's belongings upstairs.

Others in the area could not take such preventive measures on time.

Public relations executive D. Lee, 27, said the flood waters were already ankle deep in her home when she awoke at 7am.

With last year's floods still fresh in her mind, she set up a barrier across her doorway anyway.

'It's not as bad. The flood subsided within two hours,' she said.

DARYL CHIN & LEOW SI WAN

Heavy rain causes flash floods in Singapore
Sara Grosse and Saifulbahri Bin Ismail Channel NewsAsia 5 Jun 11;

SINGAPORE: Singapore national water agency PUB said heavy and intense rain fell over the central and eastern parts of Singapore early Sunday morning, resulting in flash floods in various locations.

PUB said the rainfall on Sunday was more intense than that of June last year, with about 65mm recorded within 30 minutes on Sunday morning, compared to the 100mm within two hours on June 16, 2010.

PUB said the rainfall in the eastern area started early Sunday morning and caused flash floods at MacPherson areas including Wan Tho Avenue, Sian Kwang Avenue, Jalan Kemboja and Puay Hee Road.

The MacPherson area is a flood-prone area.

The rain moved over to the central area and intensified later in the morning.

Callers to the MediaCorp hotline reported flooding in areas such as Cuscaden Road, Hillcrest Road, Eng Neo Avenue, Sennett Estate near Potong Pasir, MacPherson, Toa Payoh, and Balestier.

They also reported fallen trees caused by the downpour and gusty wind.

PUB said Orchard Road did not experience similar floods this time.

PUB said it has substantially completed raising the stretch of Orchard Road (from Orange Grove Road to Cairnhill Road).

However, flash floods occurred at Cuscaden Road, Tanglin/Tomlinson Road junction, and Napier Road/Tanglin Road junction.

The basement carpark of Delfi Orchard was flooded.

The basement level 1 of Tanglin Mall was also affected for the first time

Forum Shopping Mall was also affected, and many stores had to close temporarily.

MediaCorp understands that water levels were about ankle-deep.

When MediaCorp visited Tanglin and Forum Shopping malls, store owners and employees there said that they had been cleaning up for more than two hours.

Spinelli Coffee Company retail store manager at Forum The Shopping Mall Chen Jiahui said: "The rain is too heavy; the water comes too fast so subsequently, the area is all flooded.

"The water just keeps on gushing in because (the) door is an auto door, so there's no way we can stop the water from coming in".

PUB said it deployed tankers to both Delfi Orchard and Tanglin Mall to pump out the water from their basement carparks.

Meanwhile, at Bukit Timah Road, flash floods occurred at the stretch from Blackmore to Maplewood Road and two out of three lanes were affected. The road was closed temporarily for one hour.

PUB said drainage improvement works are in progress at the stretch from Jalan Kampong Chantek to Maple Avenue and this will improve the drainage capacity along this stretch by end-2011.

PUB mobilised staff and contractors to the sites once it received alerts of heavy rain.

PUB, Traffic Police and SCDF officers were on site to render assistance.

In a statement issued at 12.15pm, PUB said the flash floods reported earlier along Bukit Timah Road (the stretch from Blackmore road to Maplewood Road) and Dunearn Road (from Rifle Range Road to Yarwood Road) as well as at Orchard Road (Cuscaden Road - at the Tanglin/Tomlinson Road junction; Tanglin/Napir Road junction) have subsided.

These roads are now passable to traffic.

In Bukit Timah, the management committee of Tessarina condominium told MediaCorp residents were alerted by a siren on Sunday morning when the Bukit Timah canal burst its banks.

Many then drove their cars out of the basement to higher grounds.

The flood barrier at the condominium was also activated as a preventive measure.

The condominium was one of the places badly affected by previous floods.

PUB said at Marina Barrage, up to five gates were operated during the early part of the morning when sea tide was lower.

Seven pumps were operated at the later part of the morning to lower the water level at Marina Reservoir.

PUB said it has an ongoing drainage improvement programme in flood-prone areas.

It has also enhanced its flood-monitoring system by increasing the number of water level sensors in key canals and drains from 32 to 90 in end-2010.

This will be further increased to 150 by end-2011.

Flash floods hit parts of Orchard, Bukit Timah areas
Flooding in Tanglin Mall basement and Delfi Orchard basement carpark
Teh Shi Ning Business Times 6 Jun 11;

(SINGAPORE) Sunday morning's downpours triggered flash floods in flood- prone MacPherson as well as some parts of the Orchard Road and Bukit Timah areas.

This led to indoor flooding of the basement of Tanglin Mall as well as the basement carpark of Delfi Orchard in scenes reminiscent of the flooding which led to a public outcry last June.

But Orchard Road itself did not experience similar floods this time, said national water agency PUB.

This was despite more intense rainfall - 65mm of rain fell within 30 minutes yesterday compared with 100mm in two hours on June 16, 2010.

Heavy rains over eastern Singapore started from 6.30am yesterday, triggering the flash floods at MacPherson. The rain then moved to central Singapore, intensifying from 10 to 11am. The 124mm of rainfall recorded for the central area yesterday morning made up 77 per cent of the average monthly rainfall for June.

Along Bukit Timah Road, two out of three lanes were affected by the flash floods, leading to an hour-long closure of the stretch from Blackmore to Maplewood Road.

PUB said drainage improvement works now underway in that area should improve drainage capacity by the end of this year.

The water agency also said it mobilised staff and contractors to the sites once it received alerts of heavy rain, deploying tankers to Delfi Orchard and Tanglin Mall to pump out water from their basements. Traffic Police and Singapore Civil Defence Force officers were despatched to the flood sites.

In a bid to assure the public that its flood monitoring system is being enhanced, PUB said that it raised the number of water-level sensors in key canals and drains from 32 to 90 last year, and will add more to bring this to 150 by the year-end.