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Eastern parts of S’pore hit by flash floods

SINGAPORE — Several areas in the eastern parts of Singapore were yesterday hit by flash floods after the pre-dawn thundery showers, which also caused some damage to Pasir Ris Polyclinic.

The drains along Tampines Road, between Upper Serangoon Road and Hougang Ave 2, will be upgraded next year to prevent flooding like this that happened about 8.30am yesterday. Photo: Kelvin Tan

The drains along Tampines Road, between Upper Serangoon Road and Hougang Ave 2, will be upgraded next year to prevent flooding like this that happened about 8.30am yesterday. Photo: Kelvin Tan

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SINGAPORE — Several areas in the eastern parts of Singapore were yesterday hit by flash floods after the pre-dawn thundery showers, which also caused some damage to Pasir Ris Polyclinic.

According to the PUB, the “intense storms” flooded lanes on the Pan Island Expressway Tampines Avenue 5 exit, Upper Paya Lebar Road (near Lim Teck Boo Road), and Tampines Road (near Jalan Teliti) although the roads remained passable to traffic. There were no major traffic incidents reported.

Parts of the second floor of the Pasir Ris Polyclinic — which was closed for the Hari Raya Haji public holiday — were flooded. Two ceiling boards collapsed on the ground floor of the polyclinic. The management was alerted to the damage at 6am after the security alarms went off.

Dr Peter Moey, the clinic’s Director, said: “We are investigating the cause and also assessing the damage severity and doing some maintenance work to assess that the building is safe for operations. At the moment, from what we see, the equipment and building look okay, but we need a more comprehensive assessment.”

Mr Kelvin Tan, who lives along Tampines Road, said the area is prone to flooding and that he has seen floods there two to three times a year over the last three years.

“Athough the flood subsided in about 20 minutes this time round, this has happened before and I hope the authorities will resolve the issue soon,” said Mr Tan, who is in his 30s.

The PUB said the drains there will be upgraded from the second half of next year. In the interim, it will also install an additional water level sensor in the drain at the affected stretch so that it can better monitor the water levels during heavy storms and send alerts should flash floods occur. It noted that a water level sensor has already been installed in the drain further downstream at Hougang Avenue 7.

Yesterday’s incidents follow severe flash floods last month that forced the closure of the Ayer Rajah Expressway, uprooted trees and caused massive traffic snarls.

In the aftermath of the Sept 5 floods, the agency acknowledged that it could take some time for the improvement works that are in progress and in the pipeline to bear fruit.

Sumita Sreedharan

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