6/28/2010

Brace up for more floods

Floods are unavoidable. We had three real big ones recently starting from the Bukit Timah flood to Orchard Road and last Friday's across the island. Why should we be looking for more floods? First it is unavoidable. Two, as we keep building up infrastructure, to provide for 6 million population, more land will be needed. But land for big canals is expensive and not productive. So if we will plan for a city of 6m million or more but skimp on drainage, flood will happen and more will happen. Can we really cope with 6 million people if we can't provide land for drainage? Or that is something that we have to live with, big floods to become our daily routine?

13 comments:

Wally Buffet said...

If you can put the MRT tunnels underneath buildings, you most certainly can have big underground drainage canals. What's the problem? Money? We got mountains of it!

Some big underground drainage canals passing beneath the condos of billionaire row in Orchard and Bukit Timah would be sweet.

Our engineers not good enough? Don't worry man, we are mass recruiting engineers from the PRC and lets hope they can do a better job than our home grown ones.

Anonymous said...

Underground canals sixty foot or more below sea-level ?

Wally Buffet said...

Hehe,

Why not? Use gates and pumps lah. Nothing cannot be achieved with a bit of ingenuity and money!

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

Actually can build a lot of canals underground. But very costly and most of the time under used except when there is a 100mm rainfall in 1 hr.

Better to use the money to build luxury condos for sale. The demand is always there. No demand, bring in more rich foreigners. The more the merrier and richer, better still.

So easy to create demand for high property prices.

Wally Buffet said...

Brace yourself for more 100mm of rainfall in 1 hour! The world's weather is now going bonkers. Provide for all eventualities. That's a mark of good governance.

Can still build condos to sell to the foreign suckers but insist that in addition to underground carparks, that underground drainage canals or giant pipes is a must. Let the rich pay for it. Like I said, I really would love to see some underground drainage canals built below the billionaires' condos or bungalows in Bt. Timah and Orchard.

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

Would any PAP MPs be asking questions about floods and more floods. I read that the opposition MPs are going to ask some questions.

Anonymous said...

>>I read that the opposition MPs are going to ask some questions

So garang..they not scare kena attack left, right & center?

Anonymous said...

Never mind. We just become another 'Venice of the East'.

That is good for our image.

They already tell us. We cannot expect no flooding.

What happened to the once in 50 years prediction just a short while ago.

Predictions in red dot changes pretty fast.

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

I am setting up a biz in flotation gears for buildings.

And soon there may be a law stipulating that buildings below 4 storeys will have to provide life buoys/jackets as safety gears.

Ⓜatilah $ingapura⚠️ said...

The increase in free carbon in the atmosphere increases the amount of water and raises temperatures.

YEs, definitely more precipitation -- whether it is sorms, rain or snow. Meanwhile the polar ice and glaciers are melting.

If everything goes "right" S'pore won't have to worry about running out of water or worry about whether Malaysia is going to "tutup ayer".

There'll be water for everyone and then some in Singapore.

Anonymous said...

If everything goes right according to Mati-lah, no need to dig expensive big underground canals. It will be wasted effort.

Just built condos and HDB higher and higher, with first or second floors meant to be flooded as in Venice.

Everyone will love this waterfront lifestyle. No need to covet Sentosa Cove. Prices of properties will be in the millions and the HDB will no longer be in the red. No cars or buses or MRT. Everybody will travel in style on their own yacht.

Redbean will be reaping in all the dough with his setup, for thinking ahead.

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

I think HDB has already make all the plans ahead, including MRT. HDB has left the ground floor empty so that water level can rise another 10 ft without any problem. MRT lines are quite high except for underground tracks which have been water proofed.

Venice of the East could be a reality.

Ⓜatilah $ingapura⚠️ said...

anon 445

Err, please... I would like to bow to your affirmation, but the science behind what I wrote is not mine.

Just read up on climate change and make up your own mind.