Heavy Rain Caused Flash Floods in Western S’pore & Obstructed Roads; Bus Services Had to be Diverted

You sign off from work with a sigh of relief. Finally time to enjoy that bus ride and the packet of Samyang you’ve been thinking about the whole day. 

And then you find yourself trapped in the office building: it’s raining so heavily you can’t see anything outside.

You weren’t alone if that was you yesterday afternoon: intense thunderstorms were reported over many areas of Singapore late afternoon, even causing flash floods in western Singapore.

#EastSideBestSide.

Heavy Rain Caused Flash Floods in Western S’pore & Obstructed Roads; Bus Services Had to be Diverted

The floods, which affected Boon Lay Way, Corporation Road, and Enterprise Road at about 5:30pm on Tuesday (23 March), were severe enough that bus service 252 had to be diverted from its original route. It skipped nine stops along Enterprise Road, according to a tweet from SBS Transit.

Please be informed that Service 252 is being diverted from Enterprise Road with 9 bus stops skipped (22439, 22309, 22299, 22281, 22271, 22289, 22329, 22319 & 22431) due to a flash flood. https://t.co/zzstAzR8FA

— SBS Transit (@SBSTransit_Ltd) March 23, 2021

While the floods had largely subsided by 6:00pm, the National Environment Agency (NEA) forecasted that more showers were anticipated at night, and more thundery showers are likely over large parts of Singapore on Wednesday (24 March). 

A Wet March

The heavy rainfall is part of a larger trend over late March, which the Meteorological Service Singapore (MSS) cautioned would be replete with rain.

Most of the expected rain should come in the afternoon, and may continue into the evening, after intense solar heating in the morning causes water vapour in the air to rise rapidly and form rain clouds.

At least the weather will be cooler, predicted to dip as low as 24°C. 

What Can We Do About It?

In a swiftly urbanising Singapore that’s expected to experience more rainfall in the future thanks to global warming, the risks of flash floods can only increase.

If you’re shaking your head and cursing at the sky, fret not! Fortunately, there are plenty of measures we can adopt to alleviate the threats they pose.

The most visible one would perhaps be the inclusion of green roofs in newer buildings, such as rooftop gardens.

The Housing Development Board (HDB) has already announced its intention to include greenery 4.5 times the size of the housing estate in its new developments, according to TODAYonline.

This is because soil and plant leaves capture and store water to be slowly released over a longer time, rather than letting all the rainfall flow into our drainage systems. This relieves pressure on our canals and makes it more difficult for them to overflow.

The government has even ventured into raising entire roads and buildings, such as in 2010, when the Public Utilities Board (PUB) dedicated S$26 million to elevating a 1.4km stretch of land from Orange Grove Road to Cairnhill Road.

And of course, we can always play a part with the good ol’ actions we can take to slow down global warming. Examples include living car-free, eating less beef, or avoiding long-haul flights.

Well, the last one won’t be difficult.

Feature Image: Christian Heinz / Shutterstock.com