SINGAPORE: A heavy downpour on Monday morning (Jan 8) caused flash floods in several parts of eastern Singapore.
In a series of tweets from 9.20am, national water agency PUB warned of flash floods at Jalan Nipah, at the junctions of Sims Avenue and Eunos Road 8 as well as Tanjong Katong Road.
PUB also issued flash flood warnings for Arumugam Road, the junction of Bedok Road and Upper Changi Road East, the junction of Upper Changi Road and Bedok North Avenue 4 and the junction of Tampines Avenue 12.
Flash floods at junction of Tampines Ave 12. Traffic passable. Issued 09:50 hours. #sgflood — PUB (@PUBsingapore) January 8, 2018
Flash floods at junction of Upper Changi Road/Bedok North Ave 4. Traffic passable. Issued 09:40 hours. #sgflood — PUB (@PUBsingapore) January 8, 2018
A video submitted by a Channel NewsAsia reader also showed floods near Paya Lebar Square where a car could be seen partially submerged.
Traffic along Paya Lebar affected after heavy rain. (Photo: Thomas Tan)
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People wading in water at Bedok North Avenue 4. (Photo: Melvin Lau)
Many also shared on social media photos and videos of flooding at several areas in Singapore.
Part-time Uber driver Melvin Lau said he was driving along Bedok North Avenue 4 at around 9am when he encountered flash floods.
"My car was almost stuck in the waters. I had to engage the first gear and slowly move out," he told Channel NewsAsia.
One Channel NewsAsia reader who was heading to work in a Grab Hitch also encountered high water levels at the Certis Cisco building in Paya Lebar. "The driver was sending a lady passenger with me to Certis Cisco, but found the drop-off point to be unsuitable due to the flash flood, so the next best thing he did was to go up the Certis Cisco car park," she said.
In a Facebook post at around 11.30am, PUB said that the flash floods caused by "intense rain" in several locations in eastern Singapore had subsided at around 10.30am.
PUB said the flash floods lasted from 20 minutes to one hour.
It added that it had activated operations teams to the flooded locations to investigate and render assistance where possible.
SINGAPORE: Several parts of eastern Singapore were hit by flash floods on Monday morning (Jan 8), following intense rain.
National water agency PUB said flash floods were reported at Tampines Avenue 12, Upper Changi Road/Bedok North Avenue 4, Bedok Road, Upper Changi Road East, Arumugam Road, the junction between Sims Avenue and Eunos Road 8 and between Sims Avenue and Tanjong Katong Road, Jalan Nipah, the junction of Bedok Road and New Upper Changi Road, and at Tampines Road.
The flash floods in these areas lasted from 20 minutes to about an hour, subsiding at around 10.30am, PUB said.
Dramatic photos and videos on social media and those submitted by Channel NewsAsia readers showed partially submerged cars and pedestrians wading in up to knee-deep water.
Construction workers trudge through the muddy water near Jalan Nipah with raincoats and umbrellas. (Photo: Bassis Soon)
Flooding at a construction site near Jalan Nipah. (Photo: Bassis Soon)
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Bedok North Avenue 4 was affected by flash floods on Monday morning (Jan 8). (Photo: SG Road Blocks / Telegram)
A black car half-submerged in water outside Paya Lebar MRT station. (Photo: Hew Chaw Yin)
Knee-deep water outside Changi Fire Station at around 9.30am. (Photo: Afghan)
Flooding at Upper Changi Road East. (Photo: Channel NewsAsia reader)
A pedestrian crossing is completely immersed at Upper Changi Road. (Photo: Channel NewsAsia reader)
People wading in water at Bedok North Avenue 4. (Photo: Melvin Lau)
Traffic along Paya Lebar affected after heavy rain. (Photo: Thomas Tan)
A bus stop in Ubi after the downpour. (Steven Ramesh/Facebook)
A woman pushing her car which stalled in a flood at Bedok North on Monday morning (Jan 8), after a heavy downpour over many parts of Singapore. (Photo: Twitter/SynCPositive)
Flash floods affected roads near Paya Lebar Square on Monday (Jan 8) morning after heavy rain. (Photo: Thomas Tan)
The rain leaked through the roof of a shophouse in Geylang occupied by a creative media studio. (Photo: Ronnie Chin)
While the floods were more pronounced in the east, a tree fell on the road amid wet weather in Toa Payoh, injuring two people.
SINGAPORE: A heavy downpour on Monday morning (Jan 8) caused flash floods in several parts of eastern Singapore.
In a series of tweets from 9.20am, national water agency PUB warned of flash floods at Jalan Nipah, at the junctions of Sims Avenue and Eunos Road 8 as well as Tanjong Katong Road.
PUB also issued flash flood warnings for Arumugam Road, the junction of Bedok Road and Upper Changi Road East, the junction of Upper Changi Road and Bedok North Avenue 4 and the junction of Tampines Avenue 12.
Flash floods at junction of Tampines Ave 12. Traffic passable. Issued 09:50 hours. #sgflood — PUB (@PUBsingapore) January 8, 2018
Flash floods at junction of Upper Changi Road/Bedok North Ave 4. Traffic passable. Issued 09:40 hours. #sgflood — PUB (@PUBsingapore) January 8, 2018
A video submitted by a Channel NewsAsia reader also showed floods near Paya Lebar Square where a car could be seen partially submerged.
Traffic along Paya Lebar affected after heavy rain. (Photo: Thomas Tan)
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People wading in water at Bedok North Avenue 4. (Photo: Melvin Lau)
Many also shared on social media photos and videos of flooding at several areas in Singapore.
Part-time Uber driver Melvin Lau said he was driving along Bedok North Avenue 4 at around 9am when he encountered flash floods.
"My car was almost stuck in the waters. I had to engage the first gear and slowly move out," he told Channel NewsAsia.
One Channel NewsAsia reader who was heading to work in a Grab Hitch also encountered high water levels at the Certis Cisco building in Paya Lebar. "The driver was sending a lady passenger with me to Certis Cisco, but found the drop-off point to be unsuitable due to the flash flood, so the next best thing he did was to go up the Certis Cisco car park," she said.
In a Facebook post at around 11.30am, PUB said that the flash floods caused by "intense rain" in several locations in eastern Singapore had subsided at around 10.30am.
PUB said the flash floods lasted from 20 minutes to one hour.
It added that it had activated operations teams to the flooded locations to investigate and render assistance where possible.
SINGAPORE - The flash floods that occurred in nine locations in eastern Singapore on Monday morning (Jan 8) were due to intense rainfall, with some of the locations known to be hot spots or subject to tidal influence, water agency PUB said in a statement.
Widespread rain fell over Singapore this morning, with the heaviest rainfall of 118.8mm recorded at the Kim Chuan Road rain gauge between 6.20am to 10.25am. This is is about half of Singapore’s average monthly rainfall in January.
Rainfall at the Kim Chuan Road area peaked between 8am and 8.30am, with an intensity of 56mm per hour.
The first flash flood occurred at 8.30am and all the floods subsided by 10.30am.
PUB said the flash floods lasted 15 minutes to an hour, and were reported in nine locations: Tampines Avenue 12, Upper Changi Road/Bedok North Avenue 4, Bedok Road/Upper Changi Road East, Arumugam Road, Sims Avenue/Eunos Road 8, Sims Avenue/Tanjong Katong Road, Jalan Nipah, Bedok Road/New Upper Changi Road and Tampines Road.
Water levels in several waterways, such as Sungei Tongkang, Sungei Kallang and Bedok Canal were close to being full, with the PUB issuing “high flood risk” alerts for them.
In its statement, PUB said the wet weather conditions, due to the prevailing north-east monsoon, was aggravated by the development of a Sumatra squall over the Straits of Malacca which moved eastwards, affecting Singapore.
PUB officers were deployed immediately to the nine areas to investigate and render assistance. The water agency said there are already ongoing drainage improvement works to improve flood protection for the nine locations, and it is carrying out further investigations at Tampines Avenue 12.
Meanwhile, traffic accidents were also reported on the Pan-Island Expressway, Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway, Tampines Expressway, and Dunearn Road, according to the Land Transport Authority’s Traffic News Twitter feed.
Videos and photos sent in by Straits Times readers showed people wading in water that reached near knee-high levels near Upper Changi Road and a car stuck in flood water outside Paya Lebar MRT station. A woman was also seen pushing her stalled car at Bedok North.
Mr Mohammad Firdaus, 33, said the junction of Upper Changi Road and Changi South Lane was flooded with water that reached knee levels. While big lorries and buses could move through the water, “one of the cars looked to be stuck in the water”.
The delivery driver, who has been working at a warehouse nearby for the past nine months, said: “This is the first time I’ve seen such bad flooding.”
Another unlucky driver was Mr Ricky Ng, 50, whose car stalled in the flash flood in Bedok North Avenue 4 at 8.45am.
“The engine just died and the SCDF (Singapore Civil Defence Force) had to push it – along with eight to 10 other vehicles – to higher ground near the fire station,” said the head of an IT company.
Mr Ng said he was waiting for his motor workshop to assess the damages, before deciding what to do. As he had purchased a comprehensive motor insurance policy, damages due to the flood would be covered, he added.
Elsewhere, a multi-storey carpark at Block 613A, Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4, was hit too by the heavy downpour, according to Mr Gary Haris, a senior business development manager.
The 43-year-old told The Straits Times that he saw water of ankle-high levels rushing down the stairwells. “I had to roll up my pants, take off my shoes and walk barefooted,” he added.
PUB urged the public to exercise caution and avoid stepping into or driving into flooded areas.
It advised the public to stay tuned to radio broadcasts and to check PUB's social media channels or its mobile app MyWaters for flood updates during this monsoon season.
According to the Meteorological Service Singapore's forecast, rainy weather is expected in the first half of January, with rainfall expected to be above normal levels.
There were floods on 14 days last year (2017), compared with 10 in 2016, and six in 2015. The figure has, however, dropped from 36 in 2013.
In November last year (2017), heavy rain caused flash floods in Hougang that subsided after about 15 minutes. Flash floods also happened at Tampines Road, and the junction of Cuscaden and Tomlinson roads in July last year.
