Jurong West sees 318mm of rain during monsoon surge, surpassing Singapore’s March average

SINGAPORE: Various areas of Singapore experienced above-average rainfall over Mar 19 and Mar 20 due to a monsoon surge, with Jurong West recording the highest total amount of 318mm, said national water agency PUB on Thursday (Mar 20).

In eastern Singapore, the highest rainfall recorded was 298.4mm.

Both amounts are above Singapore’s average monthly rainfall of 209.7mm for March, PUB said in a Facebook post.

Flooding also occurred on a 15m stretch along the intersection of Mountbatten Road and Jalan Seaview for about two hours at around 2pm on Thursday.

This was due to a “combination of heavy rainfall and (a) high tide that temporarily overwhelmed the adjacent canal and surrounding roadside drains”, said PUB. It added that there was also flooding within the premises of a nearby property.

The agency said that officers from its Quick Response Teams (QRTs) aided residents in setting up portable barriers to mitigate the flooding. It also deployed portable pumps to pump water out from the flooded road.

Over the two days, PUB issued flood risk warnings for several locations, including the intersection of Mountbatten Road and Jalan Seaview, as well as along the Pan-Island Expressway in the direction of Changi Airport after the Tampines Expressway exit and the East Coast Parkway in the direction of Changi Airport after the Bayshore Road exit.

It also deployed QRTs to be on standby at flood-risk locations to render assistance.

The persistent downpour also forced the delay of the 2025 Porsche Singapore Classic golf tournament, which was due to start on Thursday. 

Beyond flooding, concerns have also been raised about the heavy rainfall affecting key operations in Singapore. 

For instance, ground handler and in-flight catering services provider SATS cautioned in a LinkedIn post on Thursday morning that its Singapore hub team could face disruptions to operations at Changi Airport and Seletar Airport when thunderstorms and heavy rain trigger lightning alerts, restricting airside operations.

The monsoon surge is expected to last until Friday, bringing moderate to heavy rain across Singapore, said the Meteorological Service Singapore on Monday.