These past couple of days in Singapore have been particularly wet, with the heavy downpour causing flash floors in several areas. First hit was Choa Chu Kang and Bukit Batok in western Singapore on 10th Nov. And just yesterday, the Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway (KPE) and Lorong 23 Geylang were flooded as well with other areas in the central and southern region on high flood risk.
The Public Utilities Board (PUB) send out officers to investigate the floods and offer assistance where necessary. According to the PUB, Saturday evening saw about 100mm of rain being recorded in a 2 hour period – that’s about 40% of the average monthly rainfall for November.
This heavy downpour is the usual inter-monsoon condition with the first two weeks of November expected to be wetter than usual, says the Meteorological Service Singapore. The forecast warns moderate to thundery showers that will last from the afternoon to late evenings.
Online, netizens have been vocal about the floods – sharing reports of water level and photos of the flood in different areas. Hilariously, many are referring to the incidents as ‘ponding’ – a reference to a few years ago when the media came up with the term ‘ponding’ in reference to the Orchard Road floods as a way to avoid using the word ‘flood’.
One a more serious note, many are urging the government to take a more proactive role to upgrade the island’s drainage system to cope with the floods that are inevitable each monsoon season.
Some netizens also pointed out that the increase in flash flooding due to drastic weather is a direct effect of climate change – Singapore’s only major natural problem.
A few even commented on how deforestation and unchecked development only serves to increase the likelihood of flash flooding in urban areas:
