Visitors to the Merlion Park braving the rain at 11am on Oct 14. - ST PHOTO: BRIAN TEO
SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/ANN): The western part of Singapore experienced one of the country’s heaviest downpours in over 40 years on the morning of Oct 14, with thunderstorms blanketing the island.
Some 134.8mm of rainfall was recorded in western Singapore from 8.15am to 1.50pm, the highest amount during this time period, national water agency PUB said on Facebook late on Oct 14.
“This amount corresponds to 80 per cent of Singapore’s average monthly rainfall in October, and lies within the top 1 per cent of maximum daily rainfall records since 1978,” PUB said.
According to the Meteorological Service Singapore (MSS), the month of October sees an average of 168.3mm of rainfall, based on readings recorded between 1991 and 2020.
The heavy rain on Oct 14 resulted in flooding in many areas, such as Tampines and Bukit Timah, with videos on social media showing vehicles slowly making their way through flooded roads.
Wet floor at Expo MRT station at 9.20am due to the heavy rain on Oct 14. - ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
PUB said it issued flood risk warnings for 15 locations, including Dunearn Road in Bukit Timah, Sunset Way estate, parts of Bedok and Jalan Seaview, off Mountbatten Road.
The flood in Dunearn Road affected the pavements and bus stops there, and was due to the high water levels in the adjacent drains and Bukit Timah Canal, said PUB, adding that the waters subsided within 20 minutes.
It added that there are ongoing works to deepen and widen a 900m stretch of Bukit Timah Canal, expected to be completed by 2026. In 2022, a section of the road was raised as part of measures to alleviate flood risk there, said PUB.
In an Oct 1 advisory, the MSS said thundery showers are expected in the afternoon on most days in the first half of October and may extend into the night on some days.
PUB has advised the public to use the MyENV app and subscribe to the PUB Flood Alerts Telegram channel (https://t.me/pubfloodalerts) to receive heavy rain alerts and flood risk warnings. - The Straits Times/ANN
