The Mid-Autumn festivities were brought to chaos on September 17 when an unexpected storm brought heavy rain, strong winds, and caused damage to trees and infrastructure in Singapore. The Sumatra Squall made landfall around 7pm and took just 45-minutes to wreak havoc across the island moving from west to east.
According to the National Environment Agency (NEA), the meteorological phenomenon caused widespread disruption and damage. The Singapore storm uprooted trees due to its heavy rain and gusty winds in several locations including East Coast Park, Mount Faber Park, and the National University of Singapore. Additionally, various objects were displaced and a tree fell on a car in Jalan Besar.
Notably, the storm led to major incidents like broken glass canopy and metal debris outside UOB Plaza 2, which resulted in two people being hospitalized due to injuries from flying debris.
One Reddit user known as GenesectX started a discussion about the ”insane wind and rain” accompanied by a video showing winds and materials flying in the Bukit Merah area. In fact, nearly 300 Singaporeans left comments about the extreme weather in their area.
Will there be more storms in Singapore?
The severe weather is set to continue with moderate rain until September 23. Meanwhile, thundery showers and gusty winds are expected towards the end of the month due to the prevailing Southwest Monsoon conditions. Therefore, residents should remain prepared for heavy rains and potential disruptions.
Although, Singapore is highly unlikely to be directly impacted by typhoons currently happening across Asia, such as those in Vietnam and Penang, even though the storm was impactful on society this week.
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