Heavy rain results in traffic jams and
floods
By Wong Mun Wai, Channel NewsAsia
Posted: 19 December 2006 1829 hrs
SINGAPORE: Heavy rain has caused chaos across many places in
Singapore.
A part of Singapore was swamped by more than the average monthly
rainfall for the whole island in less than a day. 313 millilitres
drenched a northern part of the country in 16 hours. The average
monthly rainfall is 284 millilitres.
Workers were late due to traffic jams and floods.
The ordeal began on Monday night when the skies opened and the taxi
queues started to form.
Singapore's largest taxi company, Comfort DelGro, said its number
of telephone bookings had gone up by 20 percent in the past two
days.
The rain continued to come down hard in many parts of Singapore
early Tuesday morning.
While some commuters were delayed getting to work, the rain caused
more disruptions than merely turning up at offices late.
At a nursery in central Singapore, saving stock became a priority
as the flood caught many by surprise.
And it wasn't just trees which felt the impact over in
southern part of the island, part of an empty old shophouse
collapsed with debris spilling onto the street.
The shophouse is located along Tong Watt Road near River
Valley.
Police have cordoned the area and engineers from the Building and
Construction Authority (BCA) were despatched to the scene.
Preliminary assessment shows that the brick wall had partially
collapsed because the shophouse foundation had weakened from
flooding. BCA has served a closure order for the building. The
owner of the shophouse has also been directed to remove the
collapsed wall as well as the remaining section of the wall, which
is still standing. The engineers say the buildings in the immediate
vicinity of the incident are not affected.
As at 5pm on Tuesday, although the flood is subsiding,
traffic junctions at Joan Road/Olive Road, Admiralty Road
West/Woodlands Ave 10 and Upper Thomson Road/Mandai Road are
impassable to traffic.
Motorists are advised to avoid these areas.
Moderate to heavy rain is expected over many areas in Singapore
from 7pm to midnight. PUB says flash floods may occur in low-lying
areas due to heavy rain. The Met Service advises the public to
exercise caution and to be alert for flash floods.
PUB and the traffic police will continue to update the public about
the situation. The National Environment Agency says it is not
uncommon for Singapore to experience heavy monsoon rain from
November until January.
The Agency expects the rain and wind to last for the next few days.
- CNA/so
