Flash floods hit Singapore after record rainfall, among heaviest downpours in 40 years; public told to stay alert

Very heavy rainfall on Friday afternoon, among the heaviest downpours in 40 years, caused flash floods in two places in Singapore. The Public Utility Board (PUB), Singapore’s National Water Agency, said on social media that it had “issued flood risk warnings for 19 locations across the island, including Lor Gambir, Mt Vernon Road, Choa Chu Kang Avenue 1, Bedok Avenue 4 and Jalan Nipah”.

PUB said: “Two flash floods occurred at Wan Tho Avenue at 3.10pm and Yishun Avenue 7 at 3.30pm. Both incidents subsided within 10 minutes. PUB’s Quick Response Team provided immediate assistance to motorists at both locations.”

According to the PUB post, the “heaviest rainfall of 127.7mm was recorded in northern Singapore from 2.15pm to 4.50pm” on 22 November 2024. The agency added: “This amount corresponds to 51% of Singapore’s average monthly rainfall in November, and lies within the top 1% of maximum daily rainfall records since 1978.”

The agency said that with “the onset of the Northeast Monsoon, moderate to heavy showers are expected across Singapore in the afternoons on most days”.

Alongside posting some tips on social media for driving down flooded roads, the agency advised: “Sudden and intense storms can temporarily overwhelm our canals and drains and cause localised flash floods, which typically subside within an hour. The public are encouraged to use the MyENV app and subscribe to the PUB Flood Alerts Telegram Channel (https://t.me/pubfloodalerts) to receive heavy rain alerts and flood risk warnings.”

In a report on the flash floods, The Straits Times said that earlier yesterday, the National Environment Agency had “issued an alert that said heavy rain was expected over many parts of the island in the afternoon”.

The report quoted the Met Service of Singapore as saying that “frequent” moderate to heavy “thundery showers” are expected in November as the Northeast Monsoon sets in.

“Rainfall, often starting in the afternoon and sometimes lasting into the night, is likely to be above average, and temperatures can drop to as low as 23 deg C on some of the rainy days,” said the ST report.