Flash flood in Dunearn Road subsides, PUB warns of flood risks elsewhere
SINGAPORE – A flash flood on Tuesday (Aug 24) morning that caused roads to become impassable in Dunearn Road between Sime Darby Centre and Binjai Park subsided within 40 minutes, said national water agency PUB.
But heavy rain is posing a flash flood risk to other areas, including Upper Bukit Timah Road from Hazel Park Terrace to Chestnut Drive, the junction between Woodlands Road and Kranji Expressway, as well as in Sunset Drive and Sunset Way.
People should avoid these areas for now, said PUB in a Facebook post.
“Due to heavy rain, water levels in drains and canals have reached 90 per cent in these areas,” it added.
As for the flash flood in Dunearn Road, PUB said roads became impassable at 10.08am. Its officers were deployed to render assistance, and water levels subsided at about 10.50am.
This is the second time this year that a flash flood has occurred in Dunearn Road near Sime Darby Centre. On April 17, heavy rain caused a similar incident.
The incidents there come amid ongoing works to widen and deepen the Bukit Timah Canal between Rifle Range Road and Jalan Kampong Chantek, to alleviate the risk of flash floods in the area.
In a written response to a parliamentary question on the April flash floods in the area , Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu said works are expected to be finished in 2024. “When completed, we expect the top water level in this section of the canal to be lower by over 1m for the same rainfall intensity experienced on April 17,” she said.
The Meteorological Service Singapore said earlier this month that more thundery showers are expected for the rest of August, with the monsoon rainband hovering over the equatorial South-east Asia region where the Republic is.
On Friday (Aug 20), heavy rain caused a flood at about 7am at the junction of Tampines Avenue 10 and Pasir Ris Drive 12, which is not a historical flooding hot spot.
The incident caused vehicles to become partially submerged in the rainwater, leaving 13 drivers stuck at the road junction.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force sent two fire engines and two ambulances, with firefighters rescuing five people from four cars in just under an hour.
The thundery showers then had been caused by a clash of winds blowing from the north and south of Singapore.
When surface winds blowing from different directions meet in this way, some air is forced upwards and this facilitates the formation of rain clouds.
The authorities are investigating if construction works in the vicinity had tempered with drains or obstructed the drainage flow of storm water, causing the flood on Friday.