Wash out!

Home

News

Singapore

Wash out!

Thursday, 17 June 2010

Singapore Democrats

When the heavens opened up flooded Dunearn Road last year, Environment Minister Yaacob Ibrahim said that the flood was a freak occurence that occured "once every 50 years". This has turned out to be an idle boast and one he will regret making especially after the wet deluge yesterday at Orchard Road.

Such hubris has become typical of the PAP through the years with ministers making claims that are often wildly off the mark. The tragedy is that they are never held accountable and things go wrong as a result.

Mr Yaacob was, of course, touting the Government's prowess at building Singapore's infrastructure so that floods had become a thing of the past. The Ministry of Environment even said that Orchard Road would never flood. The press chimed in, adding that the drainage system there "can empty an Olympic-sized pool before your cup of latte has time to cool."

But yesterday's downpour left more than just egg on faces. The shopping district was submerged in brown water and where basement shops in the entire block of the Wheelock building went missing, causing hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage.

Bad as the situation was, it is not the most tragic. What is dangerous is that people believe the claims that the ministers make and they leave everything to the authorities to handle. But when tragedy strikes the ministers start to finger-point and blame everyone but themselves.

The Home Affairs Ministry has been found wanting when it comes to protecting public security and safety despite its trumpeting of doing a wonderful job. Violent crime, vice and drugs have risen at a shocking rate in recent years.

The Government's assurance and re-assurance that everything is being done to secure the country from terrorist acts has led to a high-security terrorist suspect breaking out from his prison and an intruder breaking in to an MRT train depot.

And who can forget the "golden period" that Mr Lee Kuan Yew said that our economy was entering into when only months after we crashed into our worst recession.

Mr Lee's were not mere words. His bullish sentiment probably led the GIC and Temasek Holdings to plunge into investments in banks like the UBS and Merrill Lynch, investments that cost us $140 billion in losses.

Then there is our former prime minister Mr Goh Chok Tong who envisioned that Singapore would play in the FIFA World Cup finals in 2010 - yes, the one that is taking place right now in South Africa. We can't even get our S-League off the ground.

Words and actions of ministers have consequences. When these consequences come to pass, it is the people who pay for them. This is why sophisticated political systems ensure that their elected leaders are held accountable for what they say and do.

This is also why the Singapore Democrats place so much emphasis on democracy. It is the only way that we can hold our ministers responsible and take them to task when they fail to carry out what they promise.

At the very least, it would stop Mr Yaacob's bluster that flash floods occur only once in 50 years and get him to actually do something about the drainage system to prevent future occurrences.

Share this article:

Comments (5)

Thu 17 Jun 2010 6:36 PM | Singa Crew - Blame Singaporeans

That will be the PAP's response, mark my words.

First some minister will step up to remind Singaporeans not to be 'complacent', then a fault-finding ministerial team will be formed and Singaporeans will end up taking the blame.

CNA has already reported that the cause of the flood was due to litter choking the storm drains. Probably the PAP will blame inconsiderate litter-bugs for choking the storm drains (indirectly causing the flood) and take this golden opportunity to raise the fine for littering to $2000 thus bolstering their coffers.

Oh btw, PUB said 'It will be stepping up the frequency of maintenance inspections of critical closed drains.'

You know what that means. We will be paying for that increased frequency of maintenance inspections, thus bolstering the PAP's coffers.

See? Everything will work out for the PAP in the end. In Singapore, they are only ones having the happy ending.

Singa Crew

Fri 18 Jun 2010 12:46 AM | | quantum - Why Orchard Road will never flood…

Date: 22 January 1999

Source: The New Paper

Why Orchard Road will never flood…

By Fong Foong Mei

Well, almost never.

For a flood to hit anywhere in Singapore, it takes a combination of high tides and about 100mm of rainfall within an hour.

And Orchard Road is protected by its mighty rain drain - the Stamford Canal.

Thanks to it, shoppers haven't had to slosh through waist-deep waters since 1960s.

But what makes a good drain?

According to a Ministry of Environment (ENV) spokesman, it's the flow capacity of a drain and not its storage capacity.

In other words, it isn't the size of the boat that matters, but the motion of the ocean.

And Orchard Road's supersucker had plenty of that.

It can empty an Olympic-sized pool before your cup of latte has time to cool.

It's very handy around this time, with La Nina is expected to bring about more wet days in the next two months.

La Nina is the weather phenomenon responsible for the heavier rains and cooler temperatures around the region.

Already, it has increased rainfall by 25 to 30 percent this year, noted a Meteorological Service spokesman.

Singapore's worst ever flood happened in 1978 when 512 mm fell in 24 hours.

Seven people died in that flood.

To prevent such disasters from recurring, the Government has spent some $1.1 billion since 1984 on about 800 km of drains all over Singapore.

How can you do your bit to avoid doing your shopping in sampans?

Simple. Just don't chuck your rubbish in the drains. Let the rain drains do their work, and go with the flow.

Fri 18 Jun 2010 12:57 AM | | quantum - Deluge a 'once in 50 years' event

Deluge a 'once in 50 years' event

Mon, Nov 23, 2009
The Straits Times

By Amresh Gunasingham & Ang Yiying

THURSDAY'S deluge which submerged parts of Bukit Timah was a 'freak' event that occurs once in 50 years, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Yaacob Ibrahim said yesterday.

'What happened was very unusual,' he said. 'The intensity was tremendous.'

Shortly after 1pm the skies opened and in the next two hours, almost 110mm of rain fell - almost half the average monthly rainfall for November.

When a diversion canal from the main Bukit Timah canal burst its banks, flood waters rose knee-high, partially submerging ground-floor buildings and cars and causing untold damage.

'We knew the diversion canal was not big enough to take this,' the minister said about the three decade-old canal which stretches more than 3km, from Sixth Avenue to Sungei Ulu Pandan.

It was built in 1972 as part of the Bukit Timah Flood Alleviation Scheme, a major government project aimed at diverting water away from Bukit Timah - a low-lying area with a history of flooding stretching back to the 1930s.

A second diversion canal built in the 1990s near Whitley Road runs into Sungei Kallang and the Marina Reservoir.

The minister said yesterday that plans to widen and deepen drainage networks in the area will be sped up.

PUB, the national water agency, has called for tenders for an engineering consultant to widen the canals in the Bukit Timah area in anticipation of increased stormwater run-off from upcoming developments in the area, a spokesman said.

Construction is expected to start by the third quarter of next year.

Dr Yaacob urged patience as reinforcement work is carried out.

The current north-east monsoon season is usually the wettest time of the year, with almost 48 per cent of the year's rainfall occurring between November and January.

But even thorough planning is not always enough to deal with extreme weather, the minister said.

'It is not possible... to plan for every event. Thursday's weather... occurs once in 50 years. If we design for the largest rainfall or highest tide, then we are going to have huge canals in Singapore.'

The most important thing is to have an adequate drainage system that is continuously upgraded, he said.

Before the canal was built, the area saw about 12 floods a year, with waters rising up to 0.7m. Since then, it remained relatively flood-free until Thursday.

Since the early 70s, more than $2 billion has been spent on building new canals and drains, including the Marina Reservoir, which in the event of a storm can pump 6.3 billion gallons of stormwater out to sea, alleviating flooding in the city area.

It was never used on Thursday as the diversion canal which broke drains into Sungei Ulu Pandan, and the Pandan Reservoir, not the Marina Reservoir, Dr Yaacob noted yesterday.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines as he sent off a group of haj pilgrims at Changi Airport, the minister promised assistance to those affected, saying: 'We will look to do whatever we can to help.'

Mr T.C. Chua, an engineer who was involved in a project to upgrade the Bukit Timah canal in the 1980s, told The Straits Times that development activity in the Upper Bukit Timah area could have contributed to the floods.

'The clearing of shrubs and trees could increase the surface run-off into the canal as there is no build-up to constrict the flow,' he said.

According to the National Environment Agency, moderate to heavy showers with thunder can be expected in the next few days, mainly in the afternoons.

Fri 25 Jun 2010 11:06 PM | | quantum - Flash floods in many areas

Jun 25, 2010
Flash floods in many areas
By Hoe Pei Shan and Lee Jia Xin

The heavy rain caused localised flash floods in a number of areas including Bukit Timah Road, Dunearn Road, Thomson Road and Balestier Road junction, and Old Airport Road. -- ST PHOTO: MALCOLM KOH

A HEAVY downpour on Friday morning triggered flash floods in many areas of Singapore and toppled trees, unleashing traffic chaos on many roads.

Traffic Police were out in force diverting traffic flow due to the fallen trees which had blocked lanes, grinding traffic to a halt along some stretches.

The PUB said about 100 mm of rain fell between 8 am and 9.30 am, and the amount of rainfall is more than 60 per cent of the average monthly for June.

The heavy rain caused localised flash floods in a number of areas including Bukit Timah Road, Dunearn Road, Thomson Road and Balestier Road junction, and Old Airport Road. The flash floods subsided within 30 minutes, said a PUB statement.

'PUB, Traffic Police and SCDF officers were activated to render assistance on site,' it added, and advised the public to exercise caution as flash floods may still occur in the event of heavy storms.

Massive traffic jams were reported on all the major expressways and road as the downpour came during the morning rush hour.

The darkened morning sky, along with the torrential rain, cut visibility on roads making driving conditions tricky.

Traffic on the Central Expressway (CTE) towards Seletar Expressway after Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 almost came to a standstill due to an obstacle blocking three lanes.

A tree fell outside Orchard Central, near the Somerset MRT station on Orchard Road, blocking three of the five lanes.

Floods were reported at Upper Thomson Road, Sin Ming Road, Bishan, Bukit Timah, Jalan Boon Lay in the direction of Corporation Road.

Friday's floods came a a week after downpours caused the worst flooding of the Orchard Road shopping strip since 1984, trapping commuters in buses and cars, flooding the basement of the Liat Towers building and many shops and restaurants, which reported millions in damage.

On Thursday, the PUB install five debris-trap gratings at the Stamford Canal to prevent Orchard Road from flooding again.