Latest:
More pictures of Wednesday’s flood on Yahoo.
From this website:
Most prominent area that suffered from this heavy rainfall is known as Orchard Road and intersection of Scotts Road and Orchard Road is showing a scene of a river as height of rain water in this area is around half of meter. Shops of Hermes and Starbucks affected a lot with this rain water as Liat Towers’ basement also suffered with it and a lot of water is still seen there.
Several vehicles along with many passengers can still be seen struck up on the roads as they can not be moved due to heavy rain water. Traffic lights are also not working in many intersections of the affected area. According to the latest reports, shops located at Bukit Timah and Serene Centre also affected.
Though Orchard Road is considered as the most affected but several other areas of central Singapore also affected with this heavy rainfall in which Veerasamy Road, Kheam Hock Road, Kings Road, Fourth Avenue and Coronation Road West are included.
Around 100 mm rainfall has been recorded today on Wednesday between 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM in Singaporewhich is not a usual rainfall as average rainfall in the month of June is considered as 40 mm.
——————–
From the Straits Times:
A tree fell near the Buyong Road exit of the Central Expressway Tunnel, towards Ayer Rajah Expressway, blocking traffic across three lanes. The CTE was closed as a result, partly to prevent traffic from going into Orchard Road.
Other parts of central Singapore, including Coronation Road West, Fourth Avenue, Kings Road, Kheam Hock Road and Veerasamy Road were also affected, bringing traffic to a crawl.
PUB, in a statement issued on Wednesday afternoon, said almost 100 mm of rain fell within a two-hour period from about 9 am to 11 am. ‘The amount of rainfall is approximately more than 60 per cent of the average monthly rainfall for June,’ it said.
PUB, Traffic Police and SCDF officers were at the various sites providing help to motorists and directing traffic. The PUB advises the public to exercise caution as flash floods may still occur in the event of heavy storms. The cause of the flood is still being investigated.
——————
TOC’s original report this morning:
Postings on social networking site Facebook are saying that Orchard Road is flooded. The incident has also been reported by the Today newspaper’s Twitter feeds.
Netizens are saying that vehicles have broken down and that firefighters have been seen in the area.
In November 2009, parts of Bukit Timah was submerged, causing “flood waters [to rise] knee-high, partially submerging ground-floor buildings and cars and causing untold damage.” (Straits Times)
Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Yaacob Ibrahim said then, “What happened was very unusual… The intensity was tremendous.”
The minister called it a “freak” event which happens “once in 50 years”.
“It is not possible… to plan for every event. Thursday’s weather… occurs once in 50 years,” he said. “If we design for the largest rainfall or highest tide, then we are going to have huge canals in Singapore.” (Asia One)
————–
Visit TOC’s Facebook page for more.
————–
Read also: “Why Orchard Road will never flood” by The New Paper (1999).
Here is a picture from http://yfrog.com/ju3jij of this morning’s flood at Orchard Road.
Videos of the deluge:
The funny side, by Chia Han Keong:
