SINGAPORE: The heaviest rain in Singapore since 1978 was recorded on Monday, Oct 14, the Public Utilities Board (PUB), the national water agency, announced.
In a Facebook post on Monday night, PUB said, “The heaviest rainfall of 134.8 millimetres was recorded in western Singapore from 8:15 am to 1:50 pm.
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.”
The agency added that the severe weather meant PUB needed to issue flood risk warnings for 15 locations across the island, including Dunearn Road in Bukit Timah, Sunset Way Estate, parts of Bedok and Jalan Seaview, advising the public that it would be safer for them to stay away from these areas.
Despite the heavy rain, however, the roads stayed passable.
The water agency added that while there was flooding along the pedestrian sidewalk and bus stops along Dunearn Road because of high water levels in the adjacent drains and Bukit Timah Canal, it only took 20 minutes for the waters to go down.
The area is well-known for flooding, and two years ago, PUB raised a portion of the road as part of its measures to lessen the risk of floods.
Currently, work is ongoing to widen and deepen a portion of 900 meters from Rifle Range Road to Jalan Kampong Chantek. at the Bukit Timah Canal.
PUB noted that this is a long-term measure to enhance flood protection, scheduled for completion by 2026.
The public may receive heavy rain alerts and flood risk warnings via the MyENV app, and PUB encourages everyone to subscribe to the PUB Flood Alerts Telegram channel (https://t.me/pubfloodalerts).
The rain, which PUB described as heavy and prolonged, began in the morning as many were still on their way to work and school, affecting people’s commutes.
Singaporean complains that the East-West line is not rainproof!
One unhappy Singaporean even grumbled that the East-West Line was “not rainproof” but was quickly schooled by others.
He posted two photos on the Complaint Singapore Facebook group page taken from a cabin on the East-West Line, showing a floor with rivulets and small water pools.
He captioned the photos with, “1st world transportation. East-West line! Not rainproof!”
/TISG