Heavy rain, strong winds wreak havoc in S'pore

He was heading to Mandai West Camp for reservist duties yesterday morning when he got stuck in a major traffic jam because of a fallen tree.

Bad weather had wreaked havoc in several parts of Singapore.

Fallen trees due to strong winds and heavy rains damaged several vehicles and trapped at least two people in their vehicle.

Mr Wilson Au was driving along Mandai Road towards Woodlands when the traffic started to slow before the Mandai Flyover. It was about 8.20am, but it was not until an hour later that the 25-year-old bank executive, who was on his way to camp, finally got out of the jam after making a U-turn.

Torrential downpour uprooted a tree which crashed onto a car, blocking five out of six lanes in both directions and bringing traffic to a near standstill.

The tree had fallen onto the bonnet of the car, and no one was trapped or injured. The road towards Woodlands was completely cut off, and several Traffic Police officers were seen directing vehicles towards a U-turn.

A few military policemen, believed to be from a nearby army camp, also helped with traffic control.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) confirmed that they received a call at 7.04am, requesting assistance.

Said Mr Au: "After I got out of the jam, I needed to reroute and when I passed the area to get into my camp close to 10am, the problem was still not fixed."

DISRUPTION

The New Paper understands that there were at least six other incidents of trees falling in different parts of Singapore yesterday.

One of these happened at Bishan Street 22, near the Catholic High School, where a large tree branch fell and smashed a taxi's windscreen.

The SCDF was notified of the incident at about 7am, and officers who arrived at the scene used a chainsaw to cut away the branch to free two people trapped in the taxi. The driver and his passenger were not injured.

At about 8.10am, another taxi and car shared a similar fate at the carpark in Geylang Bahru Block 57, Chinese evening daily Lianhe Wanbao reported.

On citizen-journalism website Stomp, netizens posted pictures of fallen trees and branches at Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 and near Block 633 at Ang Mo Kio Street 61.

The SCDF was notified of another case of a fallen tree along Clementi Road, in front of Ngee Ann Polytechnic, at 8.10am.

TNP also received an e-mail from reader Harry Lee, who informed us of a tree that had fallen on a badminton court near Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3 at about 6.45am.

He said a lamp post and part of a stone bench were damaged.

According to the Meteorological Service Singapore website, the south-west monsoon conditions have been affecting Singapore since early last month. In addition, "Sumatra" squalls have also been affecting the region in the predawn hours and mornings.

During this period, short-duration thundery showers can be expected. There will also be occasional thundery showers with gusty winds primarily in the predawn hours and mornings.