Sunday morning brought a huge surprise to many Singaporeans.
I had just finished Mass at the nearby church and when I headed out, it was raining heavily.
Having been here for a little over two months, I expected the rain to end in a couple of minutes. Usually, that's how it goes. I remember that Sunday Chris and I ran at the East Coast Park. While we were on our nth kilometer, it started to pour. A few minutes later, the sun was out again. Everything's okay again.
Such wasn't the case last Sunday. The rain showed no signs of stopping. Good thing I brought my flip-flops as I was headed to the gym for a session with a trainer. I took off my shoes and put on my flip-flops and braved the heavy downpour.
After all, I'm Filipino. I've been through worse kinds of rain. This was nothing.
I eventually found my way to the bus, and got myself to the gym. By noontime, there was only a slight drizzle. By late afternoon, things were back to the usual.
It was only on Monday morning when I got my daily dose of Today that I saw how bad the rain was on Sunday morning.
Flash floods in various parts of Singapore. Like they've never seen before.
According to the news that I read, it was more than 20 years ago when something like this has happened here. Eeep! What's happening? Climate change?
What I found impressive though is how quick the local agencies concerned acted on the problem.
Additional rain sensors are now going to be added along drains. From just 93, there will be 150 by end of year. Apparently, there is also an SMS alert to subscribers which will inform them when the water levels hit a moderate and a high flood risk. Good, huh?! The agency is also looking into reducing the two-minute interval for monitoring water levels when it rains.
I'm definitely impressed.
Photos above are from Straits Times.
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