Flash floods near King Albert Park subsided within 20 minutes, says PUB
On Sunday (29 Dec), a heavy downpour in Singapore caused flood risk warnings to be issued across the island.
One of the locations affected was near King Albert Park, where a flash flood occurred along Dunearn and Bukit Timah roads.
Source: PUB, Singapore’s National Water Agency on Facebook
Flash floods near King Albert Park subsided within 20 minutes
In a Facebook post on Sunday evening, national water agency PUB said the flash flood near King Albert Park developed from around 5pm.
It developed “due to high water levels in the adjacent drains and Bukit Timah Canal”, PUB added.
PUB Quick Response Teams were deployed ahead of the rain to direct traffic away from floodwaters by closing off affected lanes.
The flash floods subsided within 20 minutes, PUB noted.
Third time in over 2 months that flash floods occurred near King Albert Park
The Bukit Timah area is prone to flooding, PUB said.
The same area experienced flooding on 14 Oct, also due to heavy rain. Flooding again occurred on 16 Nov, meaning the latest flooding is the third time in more than two months.
Source: PUB, Singapore’s National Water Agency on Facebook
PUB said works are ongoing to widen and deepen a 900m stretch of Bukit Timah Canal from Rifle Range Road to Jalan Kampong Chantek.
This would be a long-term measure to enhance flood protection in the area and will be completed by 2026.
PUB issued flood risk warnings for 20 locations on 29 Dec
On Sunday, PUB issued flood risk warnings for 20 locations across the island, including Bukit Timah, Toa Payoh, Choa Chu Kang and Chinatown, due to the heavy rainfall.
According to the PUB Flood Alerts Telegram channel, members of the public were alerted at 5.10pm to avoid Dunearn Road and Bukit Timah Road due to flash floods.
Other areas it warned against included Choa Chu Kang Ave 1, the junction of Toa Payoh Lorong 1 and Toa Payoh Lorong 2, Upper Hokkien Street, the junction of Bishan Street 21 and Jalan Pemimpin, Thomson Road (from Balestier Road to Novena Rise) and two junctions of Sunset Drive (with Sunset Terrace and Sunset Way Road).
134.6mm of rain fell in central S’pore over more than 2 hours
According to PUB, the heaviest rainfall recorded on Sunday was a total of 134.6mm in central Singapore over more than two hours — from 3.15pm to 5.25pm.
It also lies within the top 1% of maximum daily rainfall records since 1978.
Localised flash floods typically subside within an hour: PUB
Heavy rainfall can be expected during this period due to the prevailing Northeast Monsoon, PUB said.
These “sudden and intense storms” may “temporarily overwhelm our canals and drains”, PUB added.
These may result in localised flash floods that typically subside within an hour.
PUB encouraged members of the public to use the MyENV app and subscribe to the PUB Flood Alerts Telegram channel to get alerts on heavy rain and flood risk warnings.
Also read: 2 cars stuck on flooded road in Woodlands during heavy rain, drivers trapped inside
2 cars stuck on flooded road in Woodlands during heavy rain, drivers trapped inside
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Featured image adapted from PUB, Singapore’s National Water Agency on Facebook.
