Beruflich Dokumente
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GEOGRAPHICAL JOURNEYS:
EXPLORING WORLD
ENVIRONMENTS
Lab 2: Flood Resilience in
Singapore
Andrew Ng Wen Hao (A0123619H)
Ardina Lukita Suhamdy (A0112098J)
Liu Huai Chien (A0133116W)
Niu Wanli (A0112672M)
Introduction
Rainfall occurs abundantly in Singapore because it is a tropical rainforest
climate, therefore resulting in heavy rainfall during monsoon seasons which
occur twice a year. The rainfall in Singapore has become more intense and
frequent in recent years, leading to floods which have caused property damage
and lives lost. A flood is defined as an overflow of water that submerges dry
land. Floods occur due to several reasons, including heavy rains, overflowing
rivers and dam malfunctions. In Singapore, the main cause of floods are heavy
rains causing flash floods (floods that occur within a short time, usually 2-6
hours). This is worrying because flash floods are destructive and often happen
without warning.
Because of the potential danger of floods, the Public Utility Board (PUB) in
Singapore has led several incentives to minimise the impacts of flooding.
Therefore, the objective of this lab is to compare the evolution of flood
mitigation between today and the past in Singapore, as well as to analyse the
effectiveness of flood prevention strategies that have been taken by the
government.
Notable Floods in Singapore
Year
Location
Cause of Flood
Impacts
27
February
Rochor,
Thomson Road,
Balestier Road,
Orchard Road
and Farrer Park
76 mm of
rainfall
17 June
Kallang
Airport/Orchard
Road
Flash flood
Nationwide
Heavy rainfall
10 and 11
November
Thunderstorm
(75 mm of rain)
02 and 03
December
Nationwide
Premature
torrential
monsoon rains
(512 mm of rain
over 24 hours)
1954
1969
10
December
1978
Nationwide
Continuous rain
for two days
6 May
Orchard Road
Heavy rainfall
Nationwide
Torrential rains
19
November
2009
Bukit Timah
Canal
110 mm of
heavy rain
16 June
2010
Orchard Road,
Nationwide
23
December
2011
Orchard Road
Torrential rain
(153 mm of rain
for 3 hours)
5
September
2013
Western areas
Thunderstorm
1984
2 February
to 27 May
September
2000s
roads.
Photos
Location: Chinatown
Description: Vendors of this shop at Buyong Road (beside Meridien Hotel)
waiting for flood to subside in the Orchard Road area.
Date: 04/19/1959
Source: SINGAPORE PRESS HOLDINGS (SPH)
Location: Nationwide floods with Woodlands, Braddell Road, Potong Pasir and
Changi being among those most affected.
Impact: Property damages and livestock losses.
Date: 03/12/1978
Source: SINGAPORE PRESS HOLDINGS (SPH)
Location: Tanah Merah, Bedok, Toa Payoh, Braddell, Bukit Timah Road/
Dunearn Road, Thomson Road and Balestier Road junction, and Old Airport
Road
Cause: 100mm of rain fell within one hour between 8 am to 9.30 am
Impact: There were traffic jams. Some cars were stalled. There were fallen
trees in Orchard, Ang Mo Kio, and Kampung Bahru Road which injured few
pedestrians and damaged a car. Some premises and goods were damaged in
Orchard Road.
Date: 25/06/2010
Source: AsiaOne
Location: NUS
Cause: Heavy rain in the morning
Description: At the science faculty blocks, water reached knee-level and
submerged the lecture theatres
Date: 05/09/2013
Newspaper Article
Prevention Strategies
Drainage Systems
It is interesting to note that Singapores first drainage system began in 1914
as a malaria prevention measure. It was not until Singapore was urbanized
that the drainage system served a secondary purpose which was to prevent
floods from occurring (Public Utilities Board 2011).
In 1951, the Singapore Government recognised that floods were becoming a
major problem and formed the Joint Committee on Flood Alleviation. One of
the first steps they took was to improve the drainage system. Over the years,
a comprehensive drain and canal system was built, with steps taken to ensure
the drains stayed clean and damages were repaired.
Today, Singapore boasts an extensive drainage system comprising 7000km of
drains that channel rainwater to retention ponds and rivers such as the Kallang
River. Some canals have been transformed into natural and scenic rivers,
boosting the image of the city.
Dams and reservoirs prevent floods from occurring by either storing the water
diverted by the drainage system or preventing the flow of water. Marina
Barrage was created for such a purpose in addition to storing fresh water. By
opening its gates to allow excess stormwater during low tide and pumping
excess water into the sea during high tide, it is able to prevent the overflow of
water onto low lying areas in Singapore. Due to the water in the Marina Basin
being unaffected by tides, the location has become a popular recreation area
for water sports (Pub.gov.sg, 2015).
Flood Protection
Assistance and consultations have been offered by the Public Utilities Board to
building owners whose buildings were affected by floods. Home-owners can
either store their belongings on a higher level, or prepare flood boards or sand
bags in case of flooding. Non-residential building owners can add humps and
flood barriers to prevent their basements from being flooded. In addition,
water-level sensors can be added in the basements and linked to their alarm
systems for flood warning purposes. One of the premises in Singapore which
has a flood barrier in place is Tanglin Mall, as shown by the two pictures below
(Pub.gov.sg, 2015).
Source-Pathway-Receptor approach
This approach was implemented in 2014 in favour of enhancing the drainage
system due to the scarcity of land in Singapore. It aims to address flood
challenges by focusing on the area where rainwater falls to (sources), channels
where water flows to (pathways) and areas where floodwater might flow to
(receptors). Source solutions include systems that slows down the surface
runoff which will enter the drainage system such as detention tanks. To
improve the current drainage pathways, PUB increased the width and depth for
drains by 15-20%. In 2011, PUB also raised the standards for land, platform,
and crest reclamation levels in order to provide additional protection to
buildings under new developments or redevelopments projects, in case of
flooding. These receptor incentives are included in PUBs Code of Practice on
Surface Water Drainage. Below are the outline for PUBs strategies (Pub.gov.sg,
2015).
Timeline:
Conclusion
Despite the rainfall became more intense over the past 30 years, there is good
evidence to support the fact that the Singapore has become more resilient to
floods now compared to the past. Flood prone areas have been greatly reduced
from 3200 hectares to around 34 hectares today (a 98% reduction) as a result
of the flood prevention measures by PUB (Pub.gov.sg, 2015) Furthermore,
Singapore has only experienced four major floods in the 21 st century.
Singapore was also ranked to be the least vulnerable to climate impact among
the 11 major Asian coastal cities in the 2009 Asian Mega-Cities Report.
However, the sea level rise, which is caused by global warming, is a new threat
to Singapore. In addition, according to the National Environment Agency, the
number of the rainy days per year has increased by 1.5 days every ten years,
with the average of rainfall per month rising from 96mm (1980) to 117mm
(2012)(Hill, 2013). Those statistics, coupled with the advent of global warming
and polar caps melting could mean that Singapore would need to further shore
up its flood prevention measures in case of the sea causing floods in
Singapore.
References
Nas.gov.sg, (1959). Vendors of this shop at Buyong Road (beside Meridien
Hotel) . [online] Available at:
http://www.nas.gov.sg/archivesonline/photographs/record-details/5f6feb4f1162-11e3-83d5-0050568939ad [Accessed 11 Apr. 2015].
Nas.gov.sg, (1967). Flooding at Orchard Road looking towards the junction
with . [online] Available at:
http://www.nas.gov.sg/archivesonline/photographs/record-details/a6c9ea9c1162-11e3-83d5-0050568939ad [Accessed 11 Apr. 2015].
Singapore Press Holdings (SPH), (2003). [image] Available at:
http://www.nas.gov.sg/archivesonline/photographs/record-details/a5f5df511162-11e3-83d5-0050568939ad
Singapore Press Holdings (SPH), (2005). [image] Available at:
http://www.nas.gov.sg/archivesonline/photographs/record-details/a81f93941162-11e3-83d5-0050568939ad [Accessed 10 Apr. 2015].
News.asiaone.com, (2010). Heavy rain causes floods & traffic jams in many
parts of S'pore. [online] Available at:
http://news.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne+News/Singapore/Story/A1Story20100
625-223858.html [Accessed 15 Apr. 2015].
Straitstimes.com, (2013). Parts of NUS campus flooded after heavy morning
showers at Kent Ridge area. [online] Available at:
http://www.straitstimes.com/breaking-news/singapore/story/parts-nuscampus-flooded-after-heavy-morning-showers-kent-ridge-area-2 [Accessed 11
Apr. 2015].
Eresources.nlb.gov.sg, (n.d.). Newspaper Article - Flood after downpour.
[online] Available at:
http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article.aspx?
articleid=straitstimes197204221.2.6&sessionid=08957ccf233b4131a6df172a22ec32c1&keyword=flood+in+sin
gapore&token=singapore%2cin%2cflood [Accessed 15 Apr. 2015].