Floating market? Chatuchak Singapore's stalls flooded during downpour

While Singapore has no actual floating markets like those in Thailand, the new Chatuchak Night Market was on the verge of becoming one. 

It was only the second day of the event at The Grandstand — which will run from Feb 7 to April 2 — when the place was flooded due to a heavy downpour yesterday (Feb 8).

The dismayed vendors and visitors ended up having to wade in ankle-deep waters, as seen in two TikTok videos posted yesterday (Feb 8). 

One visitor, who goes by the username Ucu_kim posted a TikTok video on Wednesday at the market. 

Several of her panning shots showed people ankle-deep in water. 

People could also be seen wading in the water while holding umbrellas. 

"Wrong day, wrong time," she said. 

Visitors weren't the only affected ones — vendors were too. 

Stella, who runs a booth called Kuehclouds, took to TikTok on Wednesday (Feb 8) to share her plight. 

"Day in the life [of a] small business owner," she said at the start of the video, which showed a clip of the rain. 

To protect her stall, she had temporarily put up a black cloth as her waterproof ones had not arrived yet. 

As the video progressed, the weather got worse and soon, the ground started flooding. 

"Realised we have a situation," said Stella as she showed her shoes covered in water. 

She also had to wheel in her luggage to save it from getting soaked. 

"Still really hope to see you guys, please visit," she said at the end of the video while showing herself hunched up in a corner of the booth, taking shelter from the rain. 

In the comments, netizens sympathised with Stella and left her encouraging messages. 

Some likened the situation to Thailand's floating markets.

One even said it looked like part of Songkran festival, a water festival in Thailand that marks the beginning of the traditional Thai New Year. 

A netizen also pointed out that something similar happened during previous Chatuchak Singapore events. 

Speaking to AsiaOne, the organiser of the event, Keith Tay, shared that they were aware of the flash flood situation that happened on Wednesday (Feb 8) evening. 

"It was an unexpected sudden heavy downpour. However, we do have [a] precautionary backup with five water pumps on site and the situation was rectified within 1.5 hours," he said, adding that footfall resumed back to normal after the rain subsided.

Additionally, the organiser is working with the management of The Grandstand to procure further flood control solutions in case a similar incident happens again. 

AsiaOne has also reached out to Stella and Ucu_kim for more details. 

Wet weather dampening plans 

The past few weeks in Singapore have been rainy ones and it has affected Chinese New Year celebrations too. 

Daphne Lim had been looking forward to celebrating the first day of the Chinese New Year with her siblings, but the torrential rain washed out a family meal that was supposed to be at her home in Bedok Reservoir.

Two of Lim’s four siblings and their families also decided to skip lunch at her place after prices on ride-hailing apps soared in the afternoon on Sunday.

Similarly, Ian Kunasegaran, who was throwing a dinner party for about 15 friends on Sunday, had planned to order food on Grab but was shocked to see waiting times of about 75 to 90 mins, compared to the usual 30 minutes or less.

Grab also said there were fewer delivery riders then owing to the rain.

The 26-year-old student ended up having to salvage the situation by driving to the various outlets to collect the food himself.

Thankfully, more sunshine and warm weather is expected in the next two weeks. 

The daily temperature is expected to range between 24 to 33 degrees Celsius on most days, and may reach around 34 degrees Celsius on a few days when there is less cloud cover, reported the Meteorological Service Singapore. 

ALSO READ: Flood in Bukit Batok coffee shop forces stallholders to wade in stinky water

melissateo@asiaone.com

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