BCA and PUB respond to Stomp about structural wall that collapsed in Serangoon Gardens estate

Submitted by Stomper Kris

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Residents staying in Serangoon Gardens are on edge after a storm on Jan 8 caused a structural wall near their homes to collapse.

This also resulted in a neighbour's patio collapsing a few days later.

Photos that Stomper Kris sent in shows that part of the wall, which spans over eight houses long, had collapsed. This led to debris hitting the side of several houses in the private estate.

A green canvas was placed over the debris as a temporary solution, however, Kris said that one of her neighbour's patio had collapsed onto the canvas below.

On Monday (Jan 8), the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) told Stomp that they were alerted to the incident where the earth retaining structures at the back of a row of houses at Carisbrooke Grove had collapsed after heavy rainfall.

BCA understands that there were no injuries arising from this incident but the affected area has been cordoned off for safety reasons.

In a telephone interview, the Stomper said, "With the wall that collapsed, part of the backyard is hanging without the wall."

"It's like a floor hanging partially with no support," added the Stomper.

Kris and her neighbours gathered together to discuss the issue and she said that everyone was 'on edge' especially since her neighbour's patio had collapsed.

The residents have informed the Building & Construction Authority (BCA) as well as the Public Utilities Board (PUB).

"I just really hope someone would do something," said Kris.

On Jan 9, PUB came down to give sandbags to the affected houses. Kris explains that because debris from the wall had covered the drains, the sandbags were necessary to prevent their homes from flooding when it rains.

In response to media queries from Stomp, PUB said:

"As there was a heavy downpour that morning, PUB was concerned that the obstructed drain would not be able to discharge the rainwater. To prevent flooding at Conway Circle, PUB moved in quickly to render assistance and prevent water from flowing into the houses."

PUB said that they have provided 300 sandbags to the affected residents and deployed two pumps on standby to pump out any rain water caused by the blocked drain.

The collapse of the wall also resulted in a temporary serving 1 Carisbrooke Grove to leak. As a result, water supply to unit 21 was affected for 4 hours. PUB provided water bags to the residents and commenced repair work on the water pipe immediately.

Repair work was completed and water supply was restored on the afternoon of 8 Jan 2018, said PUB.

According to the Stomper, BCA officials also came down to investigate to see what needs to be done.

The Building & Construction Authority said in response to media queries from Stomp, "Based on BCA’s initial on-site assessment, the structural integrity of the row of eight houses has not been affected. 

"The structural stability of the adjacent buildings, their respective earth retaining structures and the houses on the lower elevation (namely at the base of the slope) have also not been affected.

"In the interest of safety, the affected owners have been directed to cordon off the backyard (areas abutting the collapsed retaining structures).

"They are required to appoint a professional engineer to assess the structural condition of their houses and the stability of earth slope, and to recommend safety precautionary measures and permanent rectification works to be carried out. BCA has advised the owners how to go about doing this."

BCA added that in order to mitigate further deterioration, the exposed slopes at the affected area have been covered by canvas as an interim measure.