The New Paper AsiaOne 7 Nov 11;
A fifth of Bangkok is underwater and 11,000 people are living in temporary shelters. Could this happen in Singapore?
No, PUB chairman Tan Gee Paw said.
"Conditions here are different from the Thai capital. Bangkok is situated slightly above the Chao Phraya River.
"The catchment area is huge - you can bury the entire Singapore in Bangkok's catchment area," he added.
Speaking at the Institution of Engineers Singapore's launch of its College of Fellows last week, Mr Tan pointed out that Bangkok was sited where several big rivers meet.
Unusually heavy rains
The floods were the result of three months of unusually heavy rains and failure to release enough water from dams in the early part of the monsoon.
Paved surfaces and narrow streets worsened the problem, as they channelled water and stopped it from seeping into the ground, said the International Union for Conservation of Nature in a press statement.
Unlike Bangkok, Singapore has about 40 streams draining water and "the Singapore River is not considered a huge river".
"So we are in a more fortunate position than Bangkok is," Mr Tan said.
Here comes the rain
Koh Hui Theng The New Paper AsiaOne 7 Nov 11;
When a storm hits, Liat Towers' building supervisor Chik Hai Lam doesn't dare sleep.
Questions, like the rain outside, pelt his mind.
Will the Stamford Canal snaking through Orchard Road overflow?
Can the drains channel storm water away in time?
Will the floodgates in front of Liat Towers keep the basement-level shops dry?
Since the building's basement was hit when Orchard Road flooded in June and July last year, life has changed for Mr Chik.
"Even when I'm at home, I worry. It's raining, what if it floods again? So I call my security guys to ask what the situation is like," Mr Chik told The New Paper.
His fears persist, despite the addition of a floodgate along Liat Towers.
Built to the tune of $200,000, the barrier is the first line of defence against floods, which submerged basement shops like luxe label Hermes and fast-food chain Wendy's last year.
Like Mr Chik, other flood warriors watch and hope for the best as the rainy spell starts.
The weatherman said Singapore is likely to be wetter, cooler and windy by mid-month. That's when the north-east monsoon arrives.
Expect thundery showers in the afternoon and evening, said the National Environment Agency's (NEA) Meteorological Service spokesman.
Monsoon surges - which are periods of widespread rain lasting up to five days - are also likely, the Met officer added.
That's why flash floods may happen in low-lying areas when heavy rain coincides with high tides.
As part of its ongoing weather preparation plan, national water agency PUB is installing 55 more CCTVs in flood-prone areas to warn people about impending bad weather more quickly.
Six are already in place for a trial project along Bukit Timah.
Revised code
A revised code - requiring special facilities like MRT stations and airport runways to be built 1m above the road or 1m above the flood-prone level - comes into effect next month, PUB's director of catchment and waterways Tan Nguan Sen said.
Other steps, like sending out heavy rain warnings, are already in place. Right now, the alert is sent up to three hours before the downpour hits.
As the rainy season looms, will Singapore suffer more flash floods, such as last week's Shenton Way flood?
Said PUB's Mr Tan: "Flash floods are a localised problem. What happened in Shenton Way was due to an old drain."
Officers are now adding a new drainage outlet to ensure that water runs off the surface faster. The area is then monitored for a year to ensure it will not flood again.
If it remains dry during this time, it will be taken off the flood hot spot list.
"While Singapore has a well-connected drainage system, flooding happens as urbanisation has reduced the space for rainwater to seep into the ground," said president of the Singapore Contractors Association, Dr Ho Nyok Yong.
Touching on some experts' preliminary suggestions to build permeable roads, he suggested that low-traffic areas like carparks and park connectors be paved with materials like special porous asphalt.
But for Mr Chik, that is little comfort. He still frets about future floods.
As an extra precaution, Liat Towers' owner Goldvein spent $11,000 erecting portable slide-in floodgates at shop entrances in August.
The calf-high aluminium barriers are slotted into brackets at the doors of Wendy's, Starbucks and Massimo Dutti.
Hermes had put their own barrier in place.
Parafoil Design and Engineering project manager Jwee Quek is also helping to put up floodgates at Katong Mall and a Joo Chiat condominium.
Mr Quek also relies on weather reports.
Before and during a storm, he surveys the drainage around the building before suggesting different flood protection methods.
With more people relying on their reports and updates, is the weatherman feeling more stress?
Ms Patricia Ee, NEA's acting director of the weather services department, is not saying.
Her reply: A laugh.
