The island—state can be hit by a tsunami generated from three
locations and the waves could damage key coastal infrastructure
without being too high, said Professor Wong Poh Poh of the National
University of Singapore geography department.
"It’s not that we are totally immune. No, we are not immune,"
Wong said.
He was speaking at a news conference to launch a report, by the
aid and development organisation World Vision, on the impact of
climate change on poor people.
To cause damage, waves hitting Singapore need not be as huge as
the ones that devastated Indonesia’s Aceh in December 2004, killing
168,000 people, Wong said.
Aceh was struck by a wave about 10 metres (33 feet) high.
"We don’t need 10 metres. The problem with Singapore is... we
have a lot of infrastructure on the coast. All you need is a very
low wave to just come in and hit certain areas," he said.
"Changi Airport will be very vulnerable," he said, adding the
man—made island of Jurong which houses a sprawling petrochemical
complex is also at risk, and urged the government to commission a
study on tsunamis. — AFP/vm
