Car drives through floodwater on BKE caused by drain gratings clogged with silt and dead leaves

There is a reason Guns N' Roses has a song called November Rain and not, say, October Rain.

As Singapore continues to be hit by heavy rain almost every day lately, a TikToker shared a 17-second video of a car ploughing through the floodwater on the Bukit Timah Expressway (BKE) on Monday (Nov 7).

@bxw_vezel21 #fyp #fyps #singaporetiktok #singapore #driving #flooded #highway ♬ 芭比q了 - 邓家忠

National water agency PUB told The Straits Times that the flooding was caused by clogged drain gratings.

It was found that the grating of the drop-inlet chambers - which are installed beside road kerbs to channel rain water from the road to the drainage system - in that part of the expressway were covered with silt and dead leaves, preventing stormwater from flowing through effectively during the heavy rain.

PUB said that it had received feedback from the Land Transport Authority (LTA) at around 7.20pm that rainwater had accumulated along a 100m stretch of the BKE road shoulder near Kranji Exit 8.

PUB has since worked with the National Environment Agency (NEA) to clear the chokage.

The video, posted by TikTok user BxW_Vezel21, has since garnered more than 175,000 views.

One netizen commented: "Wow. Wet weather is getting more intense. Seems to be a global phenomenon."

Another joked: "Need to invest in a sampan already. Rich ones can buy a speedboat or ferry."

LTA first warned of flood risk on the BKE that day at 7.20pm on Twitter.

Flood Risk on BKE (towards Woodlands) after Mandai Rd Entrance. Avoid lanes 3 and 4

— LTATrafficNews (@LTAtrafficnews) November 7, 2022

On Nov 1, NEA issued an advisory that the wet weather is expected to continue with thundery showers expected on most days in the first fortnight of this month.

NEA added: "Well above-average rainfall was received across the island in October."