Flight disruptions, lift shutdowns, dancing in the rain – S’pore contends with non-stop rain
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SINGAPORE – The weekend plans of many were scuppered by incessant rain that began early on Jan 10 and continued well into Jan 12 – including travel plans.
In a Facebook post on Jan 12, national water agency PUB said Changi recorded the highest total amount of rainfall at 255.2mm from Jan 10 to Jan 11.
“This amount is more than Singapore’s average monthly rainfall of 222.4mm in January,” PUB said, adding that the rainy weather is expected to persist until Jan 13.
More than 50 Singapore Airlines flights on Jan 10 and Jan 11 were delayed or retimed owing to the inclement weather, said a spokesman for the national carrier.
At the Aloha Sea Sports Centre in East Coast Park, where water sports lovers go to stand-up paddle and windsurf, weekends are usually the busiest, but the constant showers led to 10 cancellations of bookings across Jan 11 and 12, said general manager Loh Fock Jin.
He said on Jan 11: “We’ve had totally zero business.
“It’s a very unusual season – the north-east monsoon should be entering a dry spell around this time and we should be getting strong trade winds.
“Things are getting unpredictable.”
The unseasonably wet weather is the product of a monsoon surge – a sudden increase in wind speeds that causes cold air to rush southwards in the South China Sea.
PUB had on Jan 9 warned of flash floods between Jan 10 and 13
At least two golfing events on Jan 11 – one at Changi Golf Club and one at the Singapore Island Country Club – were also disrupted, according to online notices.
Four Singapore Rugby Union (SRU) National League matches on the same day were postponed, and another two moved to a different pitch.
SRU general manager Sidney Kumar added that the weekend’s training sessions for hundreds of children in the Junior Rugby Clubs Singapore programme had been cancelled.
A beach clean-up at Pulau Ubin, organised by Drama Box for Jan 11, was nixed.
The downpour also resulted in the temporary shutdown of lifts in a Serangoon Housing Board block on Jan 11 because of “water ingress”, Ang Mo Kio Town Council said in a Facebook post on the same day.
On Jan 10, residents of Block 454 Choa Chu Kang Avenue 4 had to make do with just one working lift, after two lifts were declared out of service due to water seepage caused by the heavy rain.
Flooding occurred along a stretch of road in the Seaview Park residential estate in the evening on Jan 10, with some residents and pedestrians seen wading through ankle-deep water.
The flood was caused by heavy rain coinciding with a high tide of 2.8m, which temporarily overwhelmed the adjacent canal and surrounding roadside drains, PUB said on Jan 12.
“PUB’s Quick Response Teams were deployed to flood-risk locations, including to Jalan Seaview, to assist residents. They helped to pump water from flooded roads and distributed flood protection devices to residents,” PUB said.
Woe plagued businesses, too, like fishmonger Lian Huat Seafood, which lamented delays to some of its deliveries in a Facebook post on Jan 10.
The plans of many were snuffed out by incessant rain that began early on Jan 10 and continued well into Jan 11.
ST PHOTO: BRIAN TEO
JuzFish ArtQuatics, a goldfish farm in Sungei Tengah, also closed shop from Jan 10, anticipating low footfall, said the owner, who gave his name only as Mr Yap.
The prospect of consecutive days of rain is worrying as rainwater is slightly acidic and can harm his crop of some 100 exotic and tropical fish, he said on Jan 11.
If the rain persists for more days, he will have to change the water and lay out a plastic sheet to cover the fish, said Mr Yap.
Still, some see the silver lining in the gloomy weather.
At the Temasek Polytechnic open house from Jan 9 to 11, festivities went on, with live performances and a lively crowd.
In a video posted to Instagram by the school on Jan 11, people were filmed dancing in the rain, while others grooved in ponchos and under umbrellas.
In social media videos posted by Victoria Junior College on the same day, students were seen preparing for their open house in the deluge, with attendees wielding umbrellas and checking out the activities under tentage, undeterred.
Additional reporting by David Lee
