Three hours of rain in western Singapore leads to flooding
Some roads impassable to traffic, heavy morning downpour also sees temperatures dip
More rain pelted western Singapore in three hours yesterday morning than the country had recorded in previous years for the whole month of August, causing flooding in several areas including along a stretch of Dunearn Road and in Bukit Timah Plaza.
The heavy downpour led to a flash flood in Dunearn Road from Sime Darby Centre to Binjai Park at about 10.05am, causing roads to be impassable to traffic.
National water agency PUB said its quick response teams were on standby at the location to close off a portion of the road and to help divert traffic.
Water levels in drains and canals reached 90 per cent in some areas, and PUB issued flood-risk warnings for several locations from the heavy downpour, including the Upper Bukit Timah area, Woodlands and Sunset Drive.
The flash flood in Dunearn Road subsided at 10.50am.
It was the second time this year that a flash flood has occurred in the area near Sime Darby Centre, after an earlier episode on April 17.
The Straits Times understands that the perimeter drain in front of the entrance leading to the lower levels of Bukit Timah Plaza overflowed, causing water to spill inside.
Ms Dione Yap, the owner of clothing store Fashion Loft at the first basement level, said she had avoided turning up at the mall earlier because of the floods in the area.
The 49-year-old was there at 3pm to check on damage to her shop and merchandise.
"The floor in my shop was damaged, so I have to get the contractor to return and redo the renovation I just did," said Ms Yap, who had closed her shop for renovation works to be carried out.
PUB said the heaviest rainfall recorded yesterday morning was at the Bukit Panjang Road rainfall station, which saw 159.8mm of rainfall from 7.50am to 10.40am.
"This corresponds to 109 per cent of Singapore's average monthly rainfall in August, and lies within the top 0.5 per cent of maximum daily rainfall records since 1981," said PUB.
The rain was heaviest over the northern and western parts of the country, said the National Environment Agency (NEA) on Facebook.
As at noon yesterday, 239.8mm of rainfall was recorded in Mandai and 226.2mm in Bukit Panjang - the highest daily total rainfall for the month to date.
PREVIOUS HIGH
The previous high in August was 181.8mm, which was recorded in Changi on Aug 22, 1983.
Temperatures also dipped yesterday morning, with Newton seeing the lowest temperature at 21.3 deg C.
The downpour was due to prevailing winds from the south and south-west converging around the vicinity of Singapore.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING: GENA SOH
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now
