June and July have been a topsy-turvey couple of months for Singapore, meteorologically and economically speaking. All has been going well on the ever-important economic front. Singapore has put its best foot forward and is rewarded with number one spot in the list of fastest growing economies (14-16% growth in 2010). The Government says that it needs 100,000 more foreign expatriate workers to come to Singapore this year just to keep the economy growing.
At the same time, there are pressing questions about whether the small-scale city-state with the big ideas can keep pace with the infrastructural needs of a targeted population of 6.5 million. Dramatic and recurring flooding has stalled the City on three occassions in the space of a month. For a tropical location, this really shouldn't happen, so what's the cause and what's to do to balance the vision with the reality.
The month of July, I understand, is normally the drier time of the year. Locals and travel books tell me this. However since 16 June, on three occasions the weather has turned on a six-pence and Mother-Nature has dropped her rain cloud on Singapore with alarming intent.
Twenty years ago, the Rochor Canal in Little India would regularly burst its banks. That was when the population was small and the impact was not significant. People expected to have to mop out their front rooms once in a while and dodge the muddy puddles. Everyone knew that it rained in Singapore. A lot. Over time, the canal was widened and deepened to channel the flood-waters to reservoirs and the ocean. As the infrastructure improved, so did people's expectations. Has all that work made any difference as the population keeps on sky-rocketing and the rain keeps on falling?
It's funny that as I type this there is a global debate on the future of water supply happening right now in Singapore. The world's water infrastructure leaders are debating how we must manage the resources we have. How good it would be to say that while more than 100cm of rain fell in an hour this saturday morning that Singapore was able to harvest that into its new Marina Bay reservoir. How smug would we be then, eh?
Lady and I were woken at 4am this weekend to the sound of a biblical deluge hitting our balcony. Singapore’s main streets found themselves once again under several centimetres of water, in places where canals and gutters converge, almost a metre of water. The pictures captured by locals with camera phones ever-ready show the scale of the problem facing businesses, homeowners and authorities alike. While there's a lot of review to be done and a lot of action to take, what’s been interesting for me as always is the difference in reporting of the flash floods, comparing local and foreign angles on the story.
The Channel News Asia media coverage reads like a list of facts from the notebook of Joe Friday, the detective from the Dragnet movie; “I just want the facts, M’aam. Just the facts”. Clearly if there’s no good news about what Singapore is achieving, just stick to the facts. While the comments from Associated Press seem to show that their freer-minded journalists have been moonlighting with papparazzi photographers from The Sun, tweaking the edges of the story and spicing the sentiments with pointed barbs. I particularly like how ABC News groups Singapore in the same bucket as Manila and Jakarta on an arbitrary infrastructure index; a judgment that will no doubt stick in the throat of the PUB, while the Straits Times is referenced saying “restaurants lost fish that were in live tanks”. Need I say more?
Some sections I have removed so that you don’t have to read the whole report, but you can click through the link given.
Flash floods wreak havoc (Straits Times 16 June)
http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_541057.html Straits TimesFLASH floods caused by heavy downpour on Wednesday morning wreaked havoc on many parts of central Singapore, flooding basement carparks and shops, and making roads impassable to cars.
The worst-hit area was the Orchard Road and Scotts Road intersection, with large stretches from Paterson Road - where Ion Orchard and Wheelock Towers are - to Ngee Ann City submerged in nearly half a metre of flood waters.
The basement of Liat Towers was flooded, affecting shops like Starbucks and Hermes, which reported goods destroyed by floodwaters. A number of cars stalled in the rising floodwaters, stranding motorists. Many passengers were also reported to be stuck in buses in areas where traffic was impassable. Traffic lights were out at some inter-sections.
A tree fell near the Buyong Road exit of the Central Expressway Tunnel, towards Ayer Rajah Expressway, blocking traffic across three lanes. The CTE was closed as a result, partly to prevent traffic from going into Orchard Road.
PUB, in a statement issued on Wednesday afternoon, said almost 100 mm of rain fell within a two-hour period from about 9 am to 11 am. 'The amount of rainfall is approximately more than 60 per cent of the average monthly rainfall for June,' it said.
PUB, Traffic Police and SCDF officers were at the various sites providing help to motorists and directing traffic. The PUB advises the public to exercise caution as flash floods may still occur in the event of heavy storms. The cause of the flood is still being investigated.
Flash floods stain Singapore's urban paradise reputation (ABC News – 18 July 2010)
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/07/18/2957114.htm?section=justin Singaporeans were salvaging cars, soaked belongings and damaged goods on Sunday after a third flash flood in two months submerged low-lying areas of the city-state.
Shops and houses along posh Orchard Road were again hit by floods on Saturday after heavy rain overwhelmed the drainage system of the wealthy metropolis, which is often lauded for its excellent urban management.
The flooding took place just before parliament was to debate the issue on Monday following public clamour for explanations for earlier floods, which are normally associated with neighbouring capitals like Manila and Jakarta.
"We never had floods like that," said Peter Wong, 49, a long-time resident in a row of houses in eastern Singapore invaded by calf-high floodwaters on Saturday. Everything was gone, the carpets as you can see are damaged, the bottom of all the sofa seats are still soaking wet now, after 24 hours. We had to replace a new fridge, the fridge is totally damaged," Mr Wong said.
The Straits Times said some restaurants lost live fish stored in tanks.
A major highway was also closed for two and a half hours, while motorists and commuters had to be rescued from stranded vehicles, but there were no reports of major injuries.
Critics had blasted the Public Utilities Board for not being prepared to handle the first two floods, while the department defending itself by saying abnormal weather conditions and clogged drains were to blame.
Delfi flooded again (Straits Times 17 July) By Bryan Huanghttp://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_554657.html AFTER being hit by the worst flooding in 26 years last month, Delfi Orchard was again flooded on Saturday morning.A tenant of the building, Ms Shanta Sundarason, said she arrived to work to find the basement three carpark flooded with 'waist-deep' waters. Ms Sundarason also told straitstimes.com that tenants at Orchard Towers and Palais Renaissance were 'also mopping up after the waters gushed in'.
'So much for the 'once in 50 years Freak Flood' along Orchard Road,' said Ms Sundarason. 'It would be nice for the problem to be addressed and dealt with, rather than a sweeping statement from the ministry,' she added.
In the June floods, shoppers in the prime Orchard Road area around Scotts Road had to wade to safety through swirling brown water the colour of milk tea, when heavy rain caused a huge flood. One of the worst-hit places was Liat Towers, where a new branch of Wendy's burger restaurant had opened just three days before. The restaurant had to close as $500,000 worth of furnishings and equipment was damaged by waist-high floodwaters.
Authorities later found that a drain the width of a bus near Delfi Orchard was so choked with leaves that it triggered a run-off enough to fill 20 Olympic-size swimming pools. The run-off gushed into basement shops and carparks in Liat Towers, Lucky Plaza, Delfi Orchard and Tong Building.
Be careful what you say! – photographer arrested for taking pictures of the flooded streets!http://sg.yfittopostblog.com/2010/07/18/newspaper-photographer-detained-for-taking-flood-photos/
You know, it could be worse. I could be living in southern China right now. Spare a thought for the millions of people who are losing their entire livelihoods (and lives) in the worst flooding there in years. Puts the loss of your morning coffee from a flooded Starbucks into perspective, doesn't it.
Shovel
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