Marine Parade Market and Food Centre not affected despite heavy downpour

Hawkers at Marine Parade Market and Food Centre were able to breathe easy despite Saturday evening's heavy downpour. This after  rain-water which trickled into  the area subsided within half an hour.  -- ST PHOTO: AUDREY TAN
Hawkers at Marine Parade Market and Food Centre were able to breathe easy despite Saturday evening's heavy downpour. This after  rain-water which trickled into  the area subsided within half an hour.  -- ST PHOTO: AUDREY TAN
Hawkers at Marine Parade Market and Food Centre were able to breathe easy despite Saturday evening's heavy downpour. This after  rain-water which trickled into  the area subsided within half an hour.  -- ST PHOTO: AUDREY TAN

Hawkers at Marine Parade Market and Food Centre were able to breathe easy despite Saturday evening's heavy downpour. This after rain-water which trickled into the area subsided within half an hour.

The water, which rose barely an inch high did not affect business, said Madam Ng Ah Mooi, a 75-year-old toilet attendant. "The water came up through the drain but it subsided in less than half an hour," she said in Mandarin.

When The Straits Times visited the scene at about 7pm, the premises were dry and the centre was bustling with diners. Hawkers said they were relieved that they did not observe any floods.

"There wasn't any floods today despite the heavy rain," said Ms Siti Aminah, 28, the owner of Muslim food stall Wan Min Yummylicious.

The Marine Parade Market and Hawker Centre had endured a spate of foul-smelling floods in 2013, with waters reaching a height of four inches on Oct 30. This was due to heavy rain that caused its toilets to overflow, exacerbating the centre's long-standing drainage issues.

A Marine Parade Town Council spokesman had said in the wake of the floods that the centre's sewage system will be flushed and grease traps cleaned weekly instead of fortnightly. Kerbs will also be built to keep out flood water while drainage improvement work is planned for 2014.

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