Flash floods hit several parts of Singapore
UPDATE (21 Jan, 811pm)
Flash floods hit several parts of Singapore on Saturday afternoon after a heavy downpour.
The Public Utilities Board tweeted on its official Twitter channel that parts of Tampines, Thomson Road, Seletar/Neram Road, Jalan Tari Lilin, Hillview and Swiss Club Road were hit by flash floods around 4pm.
By 7pm, however, most of the flood waters had receded.
A day earlier on Friday, flash floods also hit Raffles City shopping mall and other parts of Singapore following heavy rain.
A blocked drain at the ground level had caused the flooding at Raffles City, the mall’s spokesperson Phyllis Cheong told The Straits Times.
Sales staff at affected shops told Yahoo! Singapore on Saturday that water first came in from the stairs at the emergency exit between the Birkenstock shoe and Crumpler bag stores.
They also said shops at the basement of the mall had to be closed for thirty minutes to an hour as a result.
A row of food stalls was also blocked off until 3:30pm and an escalator leading to the Esplanade Exchange was shut down for checks. Business resumed at about 5pm.
A salesperson at NBC stationery shop revealed that a similar flooding incident, while less severe, had happened “a few months ago”.
Meanwhile, national water agency PUB said that flash floods occurred at Veerasamy Road, Thomson Road and Tanglin Road.
In its updates on Twitter at about 2:25pm, PUB advised motorists to avoid the affected roads.
Flood waters subsided before 3pm.
Afternoon showers with thunder can be expected over the weekend and the Chinese New Year holidays, said the NEA.
