Choked drainage causes ‘waterfall lift’ at Tampines multi-storey carpark

SINGAPORE – The rainwater overflowing into a lift at a Tampines HDB multi-storey carpark on Monday (Jan 8) morning was caused by a choked gully trap at an upper level of the building, said Tampines Town Council.

A video of water flowing heavily down the lift entrance has been making its rounds on social media.

In response to media queries, the town council’s spokesman Pauline Kwa explained that the top storey of the carpark at Block 492A Tampines Street 45 is unsheltered and built with a slight gradient to ensure that water will flow to the drainage area.

But investigations showed that particles had deposited at the trapped gully, said Ms Kwa. The situation was worsened by the intense rainfall, which had caused the water level to rise above the carpark gradient. The water was then discharged out of the carpark.

“Tampines had an unfortunate incident of overflow rain water into the lift this morning after the heavy rain. This was brought to our attention at about 9.50am and our lift team was activated to investigate,” she said.

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She added that in view of residents’ safety, the lift was turned off immediately.

“We would also like to take this opportunity to thank residents for their understanding and apologise for the inconvenience caused during this period.”

Even though the carpark has only one lift and the town council is in the “midst of rectifying the issue”, Ms Kwa noted that the residents’ safety will not be compromised as it seeks to ensure that “that the lift is certified safe before resuming operation”.

Amid the rainy season, the town council has informed its conservancy team to check and ensure particles are cleared at all gully traps to enable sufficient water outflow, said Ms Kwa.

This is not the first such incident of rainwater overflowing into a lift. In February last year, TODAY reported that residents of Block 10A at Boon Tiong Road in the Tiong Bahru area had to pass through a curtain of water as the lift doors opened.

As the building is connected to an adjacent block – which is a multi-storey carpark – through a concrete ramp, water from the carpark’s roof garden flowed on the ramp to the lift lobby on the second floor of the housing block. Water then flowed on the lift cars.