Why do we still experience floods in Singapore?

A tropical island surrounded by seas, Singapore receives abundant rainfall especially during the monsoon seasons. The average annual rainfall is about 2,400mm. Most times, our drains are able to cope with the rain that we receive. However, extremely heavy rainfall can sometimes exceed the capacity that the drains are designed for, especially in low-lying areas. That is when flash floods small and localised floods that come and go relatively quickly may occur.

What is the flood-prone area in Singapore? Flood prone areas are those areas which are low-lying, with a history of flooding. Some of the flood-prone areas include Bukit Timah Road, Stevens Road, Arab Street and Rochor Canal. What is PUB doing to help those who are affected by the floods? PUB has been assisting and offering consultative advice to building owners whose premises have been affected from the recent flood incidents. PUB staff and contractors were on-site during flood events to help residents and premise owners pump out floodwater. PUB also provides technical advice on installing permanent flood protection measures, provide dedicated PUB contact persons and conduct regular briefings and provide updates on drainage works.

What is PUB doing to alleviate floods?

PUB adopts three key strategies for flood management and they are: 1. Providing adequate drainage ahead of new developments Prior to any new land development, PUB works with agencies such as the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), Housing Development Board (HDB) and the Land Transport Authority (LTA) to map out necessary drainage measures. For example, to ensure that new roads are protected against flooding, PUB works closely with the relevant agencies to ensure that they are built to the required levels for flood protection and drainage systems along these roads are adequate. 2. Implementing flood protection measures To provide additional flood protection measures, PUB has put in place a Code of Practice on Surface Water Drainage that stipulates drainage requirements. This includes minimum platform and crest levels for buildings and entrances to underground facilities (e.g. basement carparks, underground MRT stations, etc).

In the case of older buildings, PUB will work closely with building owners to provide advice on appropriate measures to protect the buildings from being affected by floods. 3. Continual drainage improvement in flood prone areas These include widening and deepening of drains and canals to ensure adequacy of the drainage system. However, in low-lying areas, drainage improvement projects are effective only if the surrounding ground level is also raised. Such projects will be carried out when the area is redeveloped. For existing low-lying and flood-prone roads, the road levels would be raised in either in conjunction with drainage upgrading works or LTAs road upgrading works. One example is the raising of Orchard Road, which will give it an additional flood protection against intense rainfalls experienced in June 2010. When an area is earmarked for redevelopment, PUB will review the drainage system in that area and raise the building and road levels to increase the level of flood protection.

An overflowing Stamford Canal was the cause behind the flooding at Liat Towers two Fridays ago, said the Public Utilities Board(PUB). Because the canal was full due to a three-hour heavy downpour, excess rainwater from the roof and back area of Liat Towersoverflowed into the basement area and could not be drained off into the canal by the building's internal pumps. This led to ponding in the front of the building.

This was the third time in two years that shops at Liat Towers -- Wendy's, Starbucks, Hermes and Massimo Dutti -- were badly affected by flash floods. Other affected areas include Cuscaden Road, Newton Circus, Kampong Java, Lincoln Road, Wee Nam Road, Cambridge Road, the junction of Moulmein Road and Thomson Road in front of United Square, and the junction of Bukit Timah junction and Sixth Avenue. Flood waters generally subsided in an hour, although Cambridge Road, Newton Circus and the junction of Moulmein Road and Thomson Road in front of United Square only saw waters subsiding at 6pm.