Heavy rains hit central Singapore

It was a very wet Tuesday, as heavy intense rain fell over the central part of the island from 7 am to 2 pm. The rainfall over these 7 hours was 143 mm, compared to the average total monthly rainfall of 175 mm for August recorded over the last 100 years.

This resulted in sporadic flash floods in pockets of Singapore. To make things worst, the heavy rain coincided with rising tide levels which reached a high of 2.6 m at 11.45 am. Areas affected by flash floods included Commonwealth Avenue, Ganges Avenue, King’s Road and Balmoral Road.

However, PUB said that flash floods in these areas are expected to ease with the completion of two major flood alleviation projects.

Ongoing flood alleviation works at Commonwealth Avenue
Commonwealth Avenue is a known flood-prone area. Construction work on an additional bigger canal at Commonwealth Avenue had already started in August 2005 and will be completed by end of this year. The new canal, costing $12.8 million, will have a capacity that is twice that of the current canal.

Marina Barrage
The construction of the Marina Barrage will be completed by end of this year. This will alleviate flooding in the low-lying city areas which are now susceptible to flash floods when heavy rains coincide with high tide.

During heavy rains, excess stormwater will be released into the sea by lowering the crest gates. If heavy rains coincide with high tide, giant pumps will channel the stormwater into the sea.