SINGAPORE'S SHORELINE (Protection against calamities)

SINGAPORE'S SHORELINE

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(Protection against calamities): **

18.

Mdm Cynthia Phua asked the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, in view of the recent weather-driven human tragedies and Singapore being an island, (a) how is Singapore protected against such calamities; (b) are there levees or such protective

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structures protecting Singapore's shoreline from tidal waves; (c) how are the tourists and residential developments at the shoreline in Sentosa being protected against such calamities; and (d) if there is an early warning system in place.

Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: Tropical cyclones, which include typhoons and hurricanes, do not normally form at places within 300 kilometres from the equator. Singapore is less than 150 kilometres from the equator and therefore it is most unlikely that Singapore would be affected by weather-related disasters similar to those caused by Hurricane Katrina or Typhoon Longwang, which recently affected the USA and China respectively.

Any measures that we put in place to mitigate disaster impacts would come at a cost, and would have to be assessed against the potential risks. It is not practical to try to protect Singapore against all potential weather-driven calamities. However, we have various measures in place that take into consideration the possible scenarios that Singapore can be faced with.

In terms of flood control, our measures today cater to weather-related incidents such as heavy rains coinciding with high tides. Our drainage system is designed with a capacity to cope with heavy storm floods that occur once in five years. We also have a deliberate policy to raise low-lying grounds in conjunction with redevelopment proposals and this helps to reduce the severity of floods caused by extreme storms. The ground levels of our reclaimed sites are at least 1.25 metres above the highest tide and levees or other protective structures are therefore not required.

The current building codes of BCA require all buildings, including hotels and residential properties, to be constructed to withstand certain amounts of forces that could be brought to bear laterally on the buildings, eg, forces due to wind loads or lateral forces equivalent to 1.5% of the weight of the building, whichever is greater. This provides some degree of robustness, which may increase if there are also structural elements such as lift cores and Civil Defence shelters.

Currently, the Meteorological Services Division (MSD) under the National Environment Agency operates a 24/7 weather surveillance to provide advisories, up to two to three days in advance and warnings closer to the event, to PUB and SCDF on the likelihood of prolonged heavy monsoon rain affecting Singapore.

Following the tsunami disaster last December, MSD is also working together with regional countries to develop some early warning capability for tsunami. MSD plans to enhance the local monitoring systems to provide operational real-time seismic data for more timely detection of earthquakes. MSD will also work with MPA to add to the local tidal gauge network to provide real-time data on the tidal/water levels. To complement the local monitoring networks MSD has established links with the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre (PTWC) and Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), to gain warnings and advisories from both centres, and additional information for analysis and verification.

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