National water agency PUB will start 36 projects in the next 12 months, on top of the 170 on-going projects, to improve Singapore's drainage system against heavy rain and floods.

On Thursday, Environment and Water Resources Minister Vivian Balakrishnan posted a map of new and ongoing projects on his Facebook page. These include drainage works at Chai Chee, and the widening and deepening of major canals like the Alexandra and Rochor Canals.

The PUB will also put out a tender for the construction of a canal to divert stormwater from the upstream end of the Stamford Canal, and is piloting a flood-forecasting system in the Marina Catchment area.

The Meteorological Service Singapore has predicted that there could be up to 20 per cent more rain than usual in December and January, which are traditionally the year-end rainy season to begin with.

Dr Balakrishnan wrote: "When flash floods occur, do exercise caution and let's also look out for one another." He exhorted residents to stay updated by checking PUB's Facebook, Twitter and MyWaters app, and alerting the authorities to drainage problems.

"We are committed to doing our best to resolving this long term problem," he added. "We have to, because climate change will make things even worse in the future, and we have to get ahead of the wave."