There's been a lot of rain lately here in Singapore. Lots and lots of water coming down from the heavens. So much water that in the span of a month we've had 3 times as much rain as the weathermen had normally expected to come down and bless us this time of year. And it was duly unexpected.
The first big mess happened at Orchard Rd where famously now, Liat Towers' basement floor collected a massive pool of brown water over a few hours, drowning out Starbucks, Wendy's, Massimo Dutti and, gasp, the Hermes store. Alerts went out all over the island via all forms of communication that the bags and scarves and other whatnots at Hermes were possibly in ruin or very quickly, going to be wet and on sale. Collectively, fashionistas across the drenched country sighed in relief and some in dismay to learn all was well and good among the $10,000 per item merchandise. Of course, the gahmen had to step in and find the cause of this travesty. A blocked canal was blamed for the backlog of water.
The second incident took place in other parts of the island, though a large pool did form at the Scotts-Orchard-Paterson junction. Roads were knee deep in torrential rain. Cars and produce were lost. Many were wondering why a second flood was happening merely a week after the splish splash along our shopping streets. Even some kindergarten kids had to be rescued from the deluge at their Telok Kurau school by firemen. Awww, so cute.
The third wet affair happened a few days ago when the gods unleashed a tremendous amount of rain over about 4-5 hours in the early hours of the morning. This time it was really bad. Mostly because rich people were affected. There was a stupendous shot in the papers of a car almost completely inundated in a flood of water in a condominium basement carpark in Bukit Timah. So the famous Bukit Timah-Rochor canal failed to deliver the water to its end in the sea and essentially flowed over into the premises of the rich and now furious. Awesome show of force from the Mother to all those who think their Mercedes and BMWs are safe. Insurance companies are probably seething too, along with the folks at the PUB who've been taken to task once too often this month to explain what they can't. The meteorologists said the heavy downpour was the aftermath of a hurricane that was then cutting towards Vietnam. Really? And they couldn't warn us?
We can't explain anything. It's an act of God. In that light, some have likened this to punishment for taking some famous church pastor to task over his organisation's financial habits. Silly but funny no less. Many have put the blame on the Marina Barrage. This mechanical dam was the brainchild of Mr Lee no less with the aim of creating a freshwater reserve in the city for fun and enjoyment, and to prevent low-lying areas from flooding. Well, the past month has really been a true test for the concept and failure is now easily thrust upon that which seems to be holding it all that floodwater in. Well, someone smart alec will be asked to do the math and evaluate the sums of why and what went right and wrong. So far, the public is merely preparing to swim in the next rainstorm if they fail to avoid the rising waters.
I have a odd theory to put forward about the Marina Barrage's role in our floods. Could it be holding back all our negative qi? It is at the end of the Singapore river, and we could holding all the wealth in but also we might not be siphoning out the bad flow. Hmmm.
No comments:
Post a Comment