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Floods hit western Singapore

SINGAPORE — Flash floods, uprooted trees and massive traffic jams were reported in many areas yesterday morning after a thunderstorm lasting over an hour dumped copious amounts of rain over the central and western parts of the island. The flash floods led to the unprecedented closure of a stretch of a major highway, the Ayer Rajah Expressway (AYE).

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SINGAPORE — Flash floods, uprooted trees and massive traffic jams were reported in many areas yesterday morning after a thunderstorm lasting over an hour dumped copious amounts of rain over the central and western parts of the island. The flash floods led to the unprecedented closure of a stretch of a major highway, the Ayer Rajah Expressway (AYE).

Meanwhile, parts of the Kent Ridge MRT Station, commuters said, resembled a stormwater drain, as water cascaded down escalators and walls. Several motorists reported that their cars had been inundated with water, and uprooted trees made it a miserable morning for other drivers. One fallen tree at Dunearn Road damaged three cars and obstructed three lanes, according to the National Parks Board.

The intense thunderstorm was behind at least four reported cases of fallen trees at Bukit Timah, Outram and Bukit Batok, but no injuries were reported.

At the National University of Singapore (NUS), students and staff had to wade through knee-high waters in some areas, as the heavy rain caused flooding at the science and engineering faculties.

Yesterday’s flooding was the most widespread since 2010, when parts of Orchard Road were inundated, rendering the busy Scotts Road junction all but impassable to traffic, the closure of several businesses and millions of dollars worth of losses. That episode led to a raft of measures to control flooding in several vulnerable areas, some of which are in progress till this day.

At the AYE, the drains overflowed due to the intense rainfall and rising tide, said the national water agency PUB. “Flood waters reached a depth of half a metre and subsided within 40 minutes,” it added.

This was the second time a stretch of the AYE, which spans 26.5km between Telok Blangah and Tuas, was inundated. On Feb 8, a stretch near the 9.6km mark had experienced a flash flood due to intense rain. One lane was affected then but the expressway was passable to traffic, said the PUB. This prompted the authority to draw up plans to upgrade drainage capacity at this stretch.

Still, the closure of a stretch of a major expressway due to flash floods was unacceptable, said Environment and Water Resources Minister Vivian Balakrishnan.

Speaking on the sidelines of an event at the NUS, he said: “I think it is not acceptable to have a major expressway shut down because of a flood. I have told PUB that we’ve got to do our best to make sure that this doesn’t recur in the future.”

Posting on his Facebook page earlier, he said the expansion of the Sungai Pandan Kechil — one of two canals that overflowed — would be expedited.

The PUB said heavy rain fell over the central and western parts of Singapore yesterday morning from 8.15am to 9.30am. The heaviest rainfall was recorded at Kent Ridge, with 102.8mm from 8.10am to 9.40am. It peaked between 8.15am and 8.50am, with a rainfall of 82.2mm. By noon, 119.2mm of rain fell at Old Toh Tuck Road — more than half of the average monthly rainfall of 168.7mm for the month of September. The National Environment Agency put yesterday’s thunderstorm down to “the convergence of winds over the region”.

At Boon Lay Way, traffic was forced to a near standstill, according to commuter Shin Tan, 24. “The bus 188 took 40 minutes to move one stop,” said the NUS undergraduate. He subsequently disembarked at the next stop, taking another bus in the opposite direction towards Jurong East MRT for an alternate route to school.

Flash floods at Commonwealth Avenue also forced smaller vehicles to take alternative routes. One vehicle attempted to plough through flood waters but got stranded on that road, according to TODAY reader Mohamad Hadir, who snapped a picture of the inundated road. Buses and other large vehicles, however, managed to drive through the flooded road and pick up commuters at the bus stop, he added.

At Kent Ridge MRT Station, the underpass linking the station to a nearby bus stop was also flooded. “I was shocked when I saw the scene,” said NUS Alumnus Ho Kinh Dat, 24, whose photo of stormwater cascading down walls went viral in cyberspace.

“People were hiding under the shelters and few dared to walk past the ‘waterfall’. Some took off their shoes to walk through the water.”

For the next few days, thundery showers are expected mainly in the morning and early afternoon.

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