Cancelled activities, business closures, dancing in the rain - Singapore contends with non-stop rain
National water agency PUB had on Jan 9 warned of flash floods between Jan 10 and 13 due to a weather phenomenon.
PHOTO: The Straits Times
PUBLISHED ONJanuary 12, 2025 2:21 AMByCarmen SinSherlyn Sim
SINGAPORE - The weekend plans of many were scuppered by incessant rain that began early on Jan 10 and continued well into Jan 11 - including travel plans.
More than 50 Singapore Airlines flights over the two days were delayed or re-timed due to the inclement weather, said a spokesman for the national carrier.
At the Aloha Sea Sports Centre in East Coast Park, where water-sports lovers go to stand-up paddle and windsurf, weekends are usually the busiest, but the constant showers led to 10 cancellations for bookings on both Jan 11 and 12, said general manager Loh Fock Jin.
He said on Jan 11: "We've had totally zero business.
"It's a very unusual season - the north-east monsoon should be entering a dry spell around this time and we should be getting strong trade winds.
"Things are getting unpredictable."
The unseasonably wet weather is the product of a monsoon surge - a sudden increase in wind speeds that causes cold air to rush southwards in the South China Sea.
National water agency PUB had on Jan 9 warned of flash floods between Jan 10 and 13 due to this weather phenomenon, with the National Environment Agency separately saying that temperatures could dip to 22 deg C in some places.
Outdoor activities have naturally been the hardest hit, with at least two golfing events on Jan 11 - one at the Changi Golf Club and one at the Singapore Island Country Club - also disrupted, according to online notices.
Four Singapore Rugby Union (SRU) National League matches on the same day were postponed, and another two moved to a different pitch.
SRU general manager Sidney Kumar added that the weekend's training sessions for hundreds of children in the Junior Rugby Clubs Singapore programme had also been cancelled.
A beach clean-up at Pulau Ubin, organised by Drama Box for Jan 11, was also nixed.
The downpour also resulted in the temporary closure of lifts in a Serangoon Housing Board block on Jan 11 due to "water ingress", Ang Mo Kio Town Council said in a Facebook post on the same day.
On Jan 10, residents of Block 454 Choa Chu Kang Avenue 4 had to make do with just one working lift, after two lifts were declared out of service due to water seepage caused by the heavy rain.
Woe to businesses, too, like fishmonger Lian Huat Seafood, which lamented delays to some of its deliveries in a Facebook post on Jan 10.
A goldfish farm in Sungei Tengah, JuzFish ArtQuatics, also closed shop from Jan 10, anticipating low footfall, said the owner, who gave his name only as Mr Yap.
The prospect of consecutive days of rain is worrying as rainwater is slightly acidic and can harm his crop of some 100 exotic and tropical fish, he said on Jan 11.
If the rain persists for more days, he will have to change the water and lay out a plastic sheet to cover the fish, said Mr Yap.
Still, some see the silver lining in the gloomy weather.
At the Temasek Polytechnic open house from Jan 9 to 11, festivities went on, with live performances and a lively crowd.
In a video posted to Instagram by the school on Jan 11, people were filmed dancing in the rain, while others grooved in ponchos and under umbrellas.
In social media videos posted by Victoria Junior College on the same day, students are seen preparing for their open house in the deluge, with attendees wielding umbrellas and checking out the activities under tentage, undeterred.
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This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.