By Wong Mun Wai, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 19 December 2006 1829 hrs
SINGAPORE: Heavy rain has caused chaos across many places in Singapore.
A part of Singapore was swamped by more than the average monthly rainfall for the whole island in less than a day.
Workers were late due to traffic jams and floods.
The ordeal began on Monday night when the skies opened and the taxi queues started to form.
Singapore’s largest taxi company, Comfort DelGro, said its number of telephone bookings had gone up by 20 percent in the past two days.
The rain continued to come down hard in many parts of Singapore early Tuesday morning.
While some commuters were delayed getting to work, the rain caused more disruptions than merely turning up at offices late.
At a nursery in central Singapore, saving stock became a priority as the flood caught many by surprise.
And it wasn’t just trees which felt the impact – over in southern part of the island, part of an empty old shophouse collapsed with debris spilling onto the street.
The shophouse is located along Tong Watt Road near River Valley.
Police have cordoned the area and engineers from the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) were despatched to the scene.
Preliminary assessment shows that the brick wall had partially collapsed because the shophouse foundation had weakened from flooding.
BCA has served a closure order for the building.
The owner of the shophouse has also been directed to remove the collapsed wall as well as the remaining section of the wall, which is still standing.
The engineers say the buildings in the immediate vicinity of the incident are not affected.
By 9.50pm on Tuesday, the flood situation has improved and traffic is back to normal in most of the affected areas. Lornie Road towards Farrer Road is open to traffic.
However, the junction of Joan Road/Olive Road is still flooded.
As a result of the exceptionally heavy rainfall, excess water from MacRitchie Reservoir has spilled beyond the overflow channel.
The Meteorological Services Division has forecasted that there will be windy and occasional heavy rain expected over Singapore till 9am Wednesday.
As the incoming tide is expected to reach its highest point of 2.6m at 11.55pm on Tuesday night, flash floods could still occur at low-lying areas such as:
i) Chinatown/ City area
Mosque Street, Pagoda Street, Temple Street, Trengganu Street, Upper Pickering Street between South Bridge Road and New Bridge Road, South Bridge Road, Upper Hokkien Street between South Bridge Road and New Bridge Road, Chulia Street beside UOB Plaza, Circular Road and McCallum Street/Boon Tat Link;
ii) Tanjong Katong area
Dakota Crescent, Meyer Place, Meyer Road, Dunman Road, Fort Road, Rose Lane and Stadium Road;
iii) Geylang area
Guillemard Road between Lor 26 to 32 Geylang, Lor 4 to Lor 22, Geylang, Lor 101 to 106, Changi Road and Langsat Road;
iv) Area off Jalan Besar between Weld Road and Kitchener Road;
v) Lorong Buangkok.
Police said that the flood at the junction of Admiralty Rd West and Woodlands Ave 10 has subsided.
Meanwhile, the total amount of rainfall recorded is 345 mm over 20 hours from midnight to 8pm on Tuesday .
This exceeds the average monthly rainfall of 284 mm for December and Tuesday’s heavy rainfall is set to become one of the highest recorded in Singapore in the last 75 years.
In 1978, the highest rainfall recorded over 24 hours was 512 mm while the second highest rainfall recorded was 467 mm in 1969.
The public can obtain the latest weather reports, including heavy rain warnings, by calling the National Environment Agency’s weather forecast hotline at 6542-7788, or the “Weather Report” at www.nea.gov.sg.
The public can also call PUB-One (at 1800-284-6600) or tune in to radio broadcasts to check the weather and flood situation.
The police advise the public to exercise caution as adverse weather conditions affect one’s ability to see and be seen.
During the rainy season, motorists are advised to reduce their speed and refrain from out-driving the actual distance they can clearly see.
The police reminds the motorists to keep a safe following distance from the vehicle travelling in front of them.
To improve visibility, motorists are encouraged to switch on their headlights, even during the day.
In the event of a vehicle breakdown or a minor accident without injuries, Police says motorists should move their vehicles to the left side of the road with the hazard lights switched on.
The NEA says it is not uncommon for Singapore to experience heavy monsoon rain from November until January.
The Agency expects the rain and wind to last for the next few days. – CNA/so
