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Singapore's worst floods

Monsoon rains brought on Singapore's worst floods on 2 December 1978 causing seven deaths and hundreds to be evacuated.The torrential monsoon rains on 2 December 1978 brought disastrous floods and utter chaos throughout Singapore.

Description
Seven people died during the floods (six were drowned and one was electrocuted by a 'live' lamp post). More than 1,000 people were evacuated from their homes by army and police boats from five submerged areas, namely, Kampung San Teng, Potong Pasir, Lorong Buang Kok, Lorong Kudang, Lorong Kinchir and Lorong Chuan.

Howling winds, lashing rain and swirling waters hit the island at 1:00 pm. bringing two days of destruction to life, property, crops and livestock. Flood waters, unleashed by the heaviest rainfall ever recorded in a single day (512.4 mm), caused roads to be submerged in more than a metre of water and impassable to traffic. Hundreds of vehicles were abandoned and several cars stalled after hitting into deep waters or trees and lamp posts. Airline flights, train and mail schedules were disrupted. Telecommunication cables and power lines were damaged causing failures in communication services and electricity supplies to thousands of households. Trees were uprooted by strong winds while the heavy rainfall caused landslides in several hilly areas.

Although the city area was relatively free of flood waters, hundreds of office workers were stranded as buses and taxis were caught in massive traffic jams. The worst hit areas were the farm belt zones of Woodlands, Braddell Road, Potong Pasir and Changi where more than 2,000 pigs and poultry perished in the swollen waters.

Evaluation
The swift and sudden floods were caused by a combination of factors including drainage problems, huge incoming tides and the rain storm itself. Total damages reached S$10 million. This was the worst flood since the Hari Raya floods that hit the island in December 1969.



Author
Tan Lay Yuen



References 
Flood chaos: thousands marooned. (1978, December 3). The Straits Times, p. 1.

Flood death toll rises to seven. (1978, December 6). The Straits Times, p. 1.

Floods, day 2: 6 dead, 2 missing. (1978, December 4). The Straits Times, p. 1.

Highest rainfall in a day. (1978, December 4). The Straits Times, p. 1.

Landslide shock for residents of blk 111. (1978, December 4). The Straits Times, p. 7.

The Big Flood '78 - a final look. (1978, December 5). The Straits Times, p. 12.

The worst since 1969 when 3,000 had to be rescued....(1978, December 5). The Straits Times, p. 12.

Totting up flood losses. (1978, December 5). The Straits Times, p. 1.


Further Readings
For these pigs, from the floods into a frying pan?. (1978, December 5). The Straits Times, p. 13. 

Why Bukit Timah races cancelled. (1978, December 4). The Straits Times, p. 9. 

Work on to bring life back to normal [map]. (1978, December 4). The Straits Times, p. 6. 

The information in this article is valid as at 1999 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.

Subject
Events>>Disasters
Disasters--Singapore
Natural disasters--Singapore
Floods--Singapore
Singapore--History
History>>Asia>>Southeast Asia>>Singapore



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