Heavy rain in Bedok North topples tree, flash floods disrupt traffic in Jurong East and Choa Chu Kang

The tree, which toppled following heavy rain in Bedok North, fell on a black Mercedes-Benz. PHOTO: ST READER
The tree, which toppled following heavy rain in Bedok North, fell on a black Mercedes-Benz. PHOTO: ST READER

SINGAPORE - Heavy rains and strong winds passed through various parts of Singapore on Monday (Dec 2) leaving some damage in its wake, including a tree that fell on a parked car.

The incident took place in the parking lot of a Bedok North housing estate and drew a curious crowd with their camera phones, said supermarket manager Joel Mabeo, who passed the scene on the way home from work.

Early in the day, the National Environment Agency had warned of moderate to heavy thundery showers over many areas in the late afternoon to evening.

The tree, which toppled following heavy rain in the area, fell on a black Mercedes-Benz and uprooted a metal railing in its path.

It also blocked one side of the two-way road, said Mr Mabeo, 35.

"The police were helping to direct traffic, and there were town council people helping to coordinate the cleanup effort," he said, adding that no one appeared to be hurt in incident and the tree was removed at around 8.30pm.

Elsewhere, flash floods disrupted traffic in Jurong East Street 32 and Choa Chu Kang Ave 1 following "intense" rain at 3.20pm, said the national water agency PUB in a statement on Facebook.

PUB officers were deployed to both locations to investigate and render assistance, it said.

"Traffic was not passable at both locations for about 20 minutes due to floodwaters. By 3.45pm, flash floods at both locations had subsided," said the PUB.

The PUB added that the heaviest rainfall of about 93mm was recorded over one hour in the western part of Singapore, which is about a third of the projected average rainfall of 318.6mm for December.

Singapore is currently in the north-east monsoon period, with more wet weather expected this month. In the first week of this month, it can expect a monsoon surge lasting from two to four days, with periods of moderate to heavy showers over the island.

"We urge the public to exercise caution and avoid stepping into or driving into flooded areas," said the PUB, adding that members of public can get flood updates from radio broadcasts and its social media pages.

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