Today Online 24 Dec 16;
SINGAPORE — Flash floods and severe traffic disruptions were reported at several locations across Singapore on Saturday evening (Dec 24) following heavy rain.
At the junction of Paya Lebar Road and Sims Avenue, traffic was stuck due to some cars stalling, said Facebook user Tony Lee. Mr Lee also claimed that oil drums and debris were seen floating at the location, with the traffic jam tailed all the way to Eunos.
Another Facebook user Kay Muk also said that “many” cars had stalled along Paya Lebar Road. “Do not drive there”, he warned.
Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) personnel were also at Paya Lebar Road helping to extract passengers from what appeared to be a stalled car. SCDF said that it received a call for assistance at about 6pm and had to "manually assist" two persons from the car, but no injuries were reported.
The National Environment Agency issued a weather alert at 5pm, forecasting thundery showers over many areas of Singapore in the evening.
Since 5.45pm, the Land Transport Authority has warned on Twitter of flash floods in at least five locations across Singapore. The areas affected by flash floods are:
Newton Circus (towards Woodlands) after Cavenagh Road
Stevens Road near Anderson Road/Balmoral Park Junction
Balmoral Road near Balmoral Crescent/Balmoral Road Junction
Cairnhill Road near Cairnhill Road/Scotts Road Junction
PIE (towards Changi Airport) at Stevens Rd Exit
Accidents were reported at the following locations, according to the LTA:
Braddell Road (towards Bartley) after Bishan Road. Avoid the left lane.
Macritchie Viaduct (towards Braddell) after PIE
KJE (towards BKE) at Choa Chu Kang Rd Entrance
AYE (towards Tuas) after Lower Delta Rd Exit.
Flash floods hit Singapore on Christmas Eve
Channel NewsAsia 24 Dec 16;
SINGAPORE: Flash floods were observed in several parts of Singapore on Saturday (Dec 24), the day before Christmas.
According to the Land Transport Authority's Twitter page, the areas affected are:
Newton Circus (towards Woodlands) after Cavenagh Road
Stevens Road near Anderson Road/Balmoral Park Junction
Balmoral Road near Balmoral Crescent/Balmoral Road Junction
Cairnhill Road near Cairnhill Road/Scotts Road Junction
PIE (towards Changi Airport) at Stevens Rd Exit
Photos sent to Channel NewsAsia also show the streets of Upper Thomson Road flooded with water on Saturday afternoon.
Various users on social media also noted that traffic the area near the junction of Paya Lebar Road and Sims Avenue were stuck due to the floods.
At around 4.33pm, PUB Singapore tweeted that heavy rain was to be expected from 4.40pm to 6pm over many areas across the island.
- CNA/hs
Shops in Upper Thomson Road hit hard by Christmas floods
Saturday's heavy rain hits shops along Upper Thomson Road especially hard
Isabelle Liew The New Paper 28 Dec 16;
It poured on Christmas Eve and the water that gushed into The Roti Prata House at Upper Thomson Road brought with it soil and insects, and knocked over two chillers.
An ice cream parlour located along the same road had to throw away almost $3,000 worth of ice cream, while a tyre shop suffered losses worth thousands of dollars when its equipment broke down.
About eight businesses along Upper Thomson Road were affected by the flood. A waiter at The Roti Prata House, Mr Syed Ridzwan, told The New Paper yesterday that the water in the kitchen was knee-deep. The shop suffered losses of about $15,000.
"All our spices, flour, gravy and rice were spoilt. We had to throw away everything. Two of our chillers fell over and were damaged. A dishwasher was also damaged," he said.
He said the water brought in soil and cockroaches as well. The Upper Thomson MRT Station construction site is nearby.
Mr Syed added: "The flood started at around 5.30pm and subsided by 7.30pm. We cleaned until 4am because it was difficult to scrub the soil off."
He said: "We lost many customers on Saturday and Sunday. Christmas is my (peak) business time and we will usually see a full house."
The eatery resumed regular business on Monday.
SHORT CIRCUIT
An employee at the ice cream parlour, Udders, who declined to be named, said the water in the shop was ankle-deep, resulting in a short circuit of the refrigerator.
The shop switched off all its equipment after that, for fear of being electrocuted.
She told TNP: "We waited for an hour before turning it on. As a result, we had to throw away all our ice cream in the pans as well as the pints in the freezer because they melted and we can't refreeze them.
"Soil, cockroaches and centipedes came in with the water. In the kitchen, dead rats floated from the drain."
The employees closed the shop at 5.30pm to clean up, and resumed business at around 8.30pm. She estimated losses to be about $3,000.
Udders is also planning to put sandbags near the doors, she said.
Nearby shop Tai Huat Tyres and Batteries lost one of their five machines in the flood.
Owner Eu Ah Lek, 79, said the machine, which they use to fix tyres to cars, can cost up to $10,000.
He noted that the flood was the worst he had seen since opening his shop at Upper Thomson Road 31 years ago.
The heavy rain also affected Newton Circus, Balmoral Road, Cairnhill Road and the Pan Island Expressway near Stevens Road, according to the Land Transport Authority.
It also caused traffic jams near the junction of Paya Lebar Road and Sims Avenue, according to social media.
PUB Singapore said in a tweet that wetter weather is expected during this North-east Monsoon season.
On Dec 22, four Singapore-bound flights were diverted to Batam, Indonesia, due to bad weather here.
