Water gushes down slope in Bukit Batok, passers-by help clean up debris on road

Muddy water from a drain on a slope near Block 383 Goodview Gardens gushed onto Bukit Batok West Avenue 5, surprising motorists and passers-by on Thursday evening (July 15).

The incident was caught on video and uploaded on the same day by Reddit user Deminovia – which has racked over 900 upvotes.

Throughout the 20-second clip, dark brown water was gushing down the slope at a furious rate.

Two vehicles can be seen reversing slowly, in an attempt to avoid the sudden rush of water onto the street.

@ohpuhlizz

Wow.. No rain at all today but this happened. ?

♬ original sound - lizzie?

A separate video uploaded on TikTok showed the aftermath of the incident, with debris scattered all over the road.

The sidewalk surrounding a traffic light was a complete mess, with certain areas holding water up to ankle height. 

A number of passers-by were seen clearing the debris – which ranged from twigs to branches even.

The video, uploaded by TikTok user ohpuhlizz, garnered almost 400,000 views. 

South West District mayor Low Yen Ling commended the work done by the Department of Public Cleanliness and Choa Chu Kang Town Council.

In her Facebook post, she said: "Due to the presence of mud and silt, it was not an easy task and they took considerable efforts throughout the night to remove all the debris by jet spray."

Low added that authorities responded swiftly and were quick to arrive on-site. Upon finding a tree trunk on the road, a National Parks contractor removed it within one and a half hours.

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She added that authorities are currently looking into the cause of this incident. Public Utilities Board (PUB) engineers arrived on-site and confirmed that the water pipes were intact. 

Investigations will continue and a detailed assessment will be carried out before more details can be provided.

"In the meantime, access to the top of the slope has been cordoned off for public safety," Low said. 

Both lanes of Bukit Batok West Avenue 5 (facing Goodview Gardens) are now opened.

On July 13, PUB put up a post on Facebook warning of potential flash foods after several drains and canals across Singapore has reached 90 per cent capacity.

amierul@asiaone.com