Bukit Timah canal bursts its banks in intense storm
By Lim Wei Chean 20 November 2009
The Bukit Timah canal burst its banks for the first time in years yesterday, unable to contain the afternoon’s downpour.
As a result, two stretches of Bukit Timah Road - from Coronation Road to Third Avenue and from Wilby Road to Blackmore Drive - were under water in one of the worst floods in recent years.
The storm, six times the intensity of an average shower here, drenched the Bukit Timah area with close to half a month’s worth of rain in about half an hour, said the PUB, the national water agency.
Between 1.20pm and 1.50pm alone, 92mm of rain fell. The total amount of rainfall logged in the area was 110mm - accounting for 43per cent of the average monthly rainfall for November.
The downpour dumped enough water to fill 115 Olympic-size swimming pools into the Bukit Timah canal - overwhelming it.
At its height, the floodwater was knee-deep, throwing traffic in Bukit Timah into chaos. The water subsided after 50 minutes, but traffic tailbacks petered out only at 3.15pm, said the Land Transport Authority.
The police had received 46 calls as at 4pm yesterday relating to the floods. Even the Singapore Civil Defence Force was activated, attending to various calls, including one from a woman who was stranded in a car at the junction of Dunearn Road and Swiss Club Road.
The Automobile Association was also swamped with calls, with 20 from members in that area alone.
The part of the canal that failed to contain the water drains into Sungei Ulu Pandan, and ultimately, the Pandan Reservoir, instead of into the Marina Reservoir, which was created as part of a comprehensive flood-control scheme.
PUB said earlier this week that the wet weather from the north-east monsoon could stretch until January; it also warned about flash floods in low-lying areas, particularly when the rains come during 3m to 3.2m high tides.
Yesterday’s floods, however, came about two hours after the day’s high tide.
The three-decade-old Bukit Timah canal has been effective in staving off floods until yesterday, and a PUB spokesman said plans have been drawn up to upgrade it.
The National Environment Agency (NEA) had noted that rain was above the national average across many parts of Singapore in the first two weeks of this month.
NEA added that moderate to heavy showers with thunder can be expected in the next few days, mainly in the afternoons.
1 comment:
There was just too much rain
Bukit Timah canal bursts its banks in intense storm
By Lim Wei Chean
20 November 2009
The Bukit Timah canal burst its banks for the first time in years yesterday, unable to contain the afternoon’s downpour.
As a result, two stretches of Bukit Timah Road - from Coronation Road to Third Avenue and from Wilby Road to Blackmore Drive - were under water in one of the worst floods in recent years.
The storm, six times the intensity of an average shower here, drenched the Bukit Timah area with close to half a month’s worth of rain in about half an hour, said the PUB, the national water agency.
Between 1.20pm and 1.50pm alone, 92mm of rain fell. The total amount of rainfall logged in the area was 110mm - accounting for 43per cent of the average monthly rainfall for November.
The downpour dumped enough water to fill 115 Olympic-size swimming pools into the Bukit Timah canal - overwhelming it.
At its height, the floodwater was knee-deep, throwing traffic in Bukit Timah into chaos. The water subsided after 50 minutes, but traffic tailbacks petered out only at 3.15pm, said the Land Transport Authority.
The police had received 46 calls as at 4pm yesterday relating to the floods. Even the Singapore Civil Defence Force was activated, attending to various calls, including one from a woman who was stranded in a car at the junction of Dunearn Road and Swiss Club Road.
The Automobile Association was also swamped with calls, with 20 from members in that area alone.
The part of the canal that failed to contain the water drains into Sungei Ulu Pandan, and ultimately, the Pandan Reservoir, instead of into the Marina Reservoir, which was created as part of a comprehensive flood-control scheme.
PUB said earlier this week that the wet weather from the north-east monsoon could stretch until January; it also warned about flash floods in low-lying areas, particularly when the rains come during 3m to 3.2m high tides.
Yesterday’s floods, however, came about two hours after the day’s high tide.
The three-decade-old Bukit Timah canal has been effective in staving off floods until yesterday, and a PUB spokesman said plans have been drawn up to upgrade it.
The National Environment Agency (NEA) had noted that rain was above the national average across many parts of Singapore in the first two weeks of this month.
NEA added that moderate to heavy showers with thunder can be expected in the next few days, mainly in the afternoons.
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