“I’ve lived in Singapore basically all my life and it’s never had weather this crazy,” wrote an Internet user named Martin (@themlpx) on the social network X late last night, posting a video of trees swaying madly and people running in stormy winds.
Reports by CNA and The Straits Times spoke of strong winds battering Singapore on Tuesday, and trees falling in several places around the country.
Photos and videos of the trees and the downpour were posted by various X users. One of them, named azuro (@azuroprotocol), compared yesterday’s Singapore weather with that of Florida, United States, because the latter often sees heavy rain and storm, as it did in mid-June 2024.
“Singapore weather going full Florida is definitely not on anyone’s bingo card,” wrote azuro, referring to the suddenness of the storm. He captioned his video: “The ‘Unpredicted’ Skygarden, in all its glory (sic).”
Another X user reposted a video of a man at the steering wheel, driving in the blinding rain in Singapore.
In its report, ST said that trees had fallen “in various locations in Singapore, including Beach Road, Xilin Avenue, Jalan Membina, on the Pan-Island Expressway before the Bukit Timah Expressway exit, and on the Central Expressway near the Yio Chu Kang Flyover”.
It said that “an uprooted tree opposite Parkroyal on Beach Road” had brought traffic to “a standstill on a three-lane road”, as motorists tried to get past the fallen tree.
In the CNA report, a resident of Bishan said that the force of the stormy wind, which came without a warning, caused “a lot of crashing, as shelves and anything unsecured were tossed around and blown over”.
CNA also reported a lot of broken glass on the road “outside UOB Plaza 2 at Raffles Place” following storm damage to a glass canopy. No one was reported to be injured in this incident. A day before this storm and rain hit Singapore, the country’s Meteorological Service had warned of persistent monsoon conditions.
The agency said, as quoted by CNA, that “Sumatra squalls may bring widespread thundery showers and gusty winds during the pre-dawn hours and morning on a few days”. The met services predicted such “thundery showers” on most afternoons.
“Sumatra squalls” are defined as “commonly occurring, vigorous and deep convective systems that emanate over Sumatra, sweeping eastwards across the strategically important Malacca Strait shipping route and affecting the population of 85 million people who live in the region”.
