Heavy showers, floods hit parts of Singapore

Heavy, thundery showers pounded the northern, eastern and central parts of Singapore yesterday afternoon.

Accompanied by gusty winds, the downpours pushed water levels in drains and canals close to the brink, with flooding reported in towns, including Ang Mo Kio, Buangkok, Hougang and Yio Chu Kang.

Between 4pm and 5pm, the PUB issued alerts of high flood risk in six areas: Seletar Road/Neram Road; Cactus Road; Tampines Road/Jalan Teliti; Exeter Road/Somerset Road; Chin Bee Avenue/Third Chin Bee Road; and Lorong Buangkok.

At around 4.30pm, the agency also tweeted that traffic was "impassable" in Lorong Buangkok, with an alert about 30 minutes later saying that the water had subsided.

Sunday Times readers also sent in photos and reports of flooding from various parts of Singapore.

Two cars were stranded for about an hour outside the Church of St Vincent de Paul, as floodwaters rose to knee-high levels along a stretch of Yio Chu Kang Road.

Said housewife Elaine Chow, 33: "The water level was up to the wheels, and I think the cars' engines may have stalled."

Several bystanders tried to push the cars out of the flooded stretch of road but were unsuccessful, she said, adding that a tow truck appeared later to help one of the cars.

A community plaza in Ang Mo Kio Street 31, near Block 312, had floodwaters up to a metre high, said Mr Choy Weng Meng, 34, a contract administrator. "This is the first time I've seen such bad ponding. Maybe the drainage could not handle so much rain," he said.

December is typically the wettest month of the year. In its fortnightly forecast given at the start of the month, the National Environment Agency said the north-east monsoon season will result in more rain and cooler temperatures. The public can expect short, thundery showers in the afternoons and early evenings, with moderate to heavy rain on one or two days.

adrianl@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on December 6, 2015.
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