24m-tall tree that fell on Tanglin CC after Saturday's rain finally cleared 2 days later

SINGAPORE - A tree which fell onto Tanglin Community Club last Saturday (April 17) evening, after heavy rain, damaged the roof of its ceramics room.

The National Parks Board said it was alerted to a fallen West Indian locust tree (Hymenaea courbaril) in Malcolm Park, off Whitley Road, around 8.30pm, following intense rainfall that day.

The tree was more than 24m tall with a girth of 4.6m, and the debris was cleared by 5pm on Monday.

No injuries were reported.

Mr Chua Lai Teck, Chairman of Tanglin CC Management Committee, said the affected area was immediately cordoned off for NParks to carry out its work.

Classes which are held there, or in close proximity to it, have been suspended until further notice, he added.

NParks said its trees are generally inspected once in six to 24 months, with higher frequency depending on the locality and age of trees. The trees are also regularly pruned to improve their structure and balance.

This is stepped up during periods of adverse weather conditions to reduce the risk of such incidents.

As an added precaution, advanced inspections of trees more than 4m in girth have been carried out since November 2016.

Chinese language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao reported that a pottery teacher and an assistant were in one of the rooms when the tree fell onto the building, but neither was injured.

Heavy rain on Saturday afternoon caused flash floods across Singapore, especially in western and central areas, in Dunearn Road near Sime Darby Centre, and the park connector along Ulu Pandan Canal, with high water levels in adjacent drains and canals.

The heaviest rainfall of 161.4mm was recorded in western Singapore from 12.25pm to 3.25pm that day.

A tree branch also fell onto a car in Lower Delta Road on Saturday, smashing its windscreen.