Fallen tree in Tiong Bahru damages walkway, car and disrupts traffic
A large tree fell across Tiong Bahru Road on Friday evening, damaging a sheltered walkway and a car, and disrupted traffic.
The incident is believed to have happened at about 5.30pm, with the fallen tree cutting off the four-lane, two-way road. Police and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) officers were seen at the scene, with at least one ambulance on site.
The roots of the upended tree looked to be about two storeys tall, when contrasted against nearby Housing Board blocks, from photos circulating in Telegram groups.
In another photo circulating in online chat groups, there were at least five buses lined up along the road, which is near Tiong Bahru Market.
SBS Transit said in a Twitter post at 6.05pm that services 5, 16, 33, 33A, 63, 851, 122, 123, 123M, 195 and 195A have been diverted from Tiong Bahru Road, with five bus stops skipped due to the incident.
Tiong Bahru resident Peter Hoskins told The Straits Times that at least 20 people crowded around one side of the fallen tree.
He added that police officers told him and other bystanders to move away from the damaged covered walkway as it might not be safe to stand underneath it.
He also observed workers “chopping the tree into bits” and towing away parts of the tree with a lorry crane.
The 55-year-old, who lives about 300m away from the place where the tree fell, said he had heard a loud noise but assumed it was because of construction work at first. He later learnt about the fallen tree from a residents’ Facebook group.
A video taken by Mr Hoskins near the fallen tree showed a black Mercedes with the roof above the rear passenger seats crumpled inwards.
Mr Hoskins said: “If the ground is that wet now and there are a lot of these big trees, I will think twice before I walk under one in the coming days. Seeing what it did to that car, I wouldn’t want that on my head.”
ST has contacted SCDF, the Housing and Development Board, and the Tanjong Pagar Town Council for comment.
After days of heavy rain a huge tree has come down across Tiong Bahru Road in Singapore, blocking it completely. pic.twitter.com/UVLJ6Nlud3
— Peter Hoskins (@PeterHoskinsTV) March 3, 2023
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