SINGAPORE: Authorities are prioritising the safety and stability of the area around a sinkhole that appeared on Saturday (Jul 26) evening at Tanjong Katong Road South, the Members of Parliament for the area Mr Goh Pei Ming and Ms Gho Sze Kee said.
Their comments come as residents living nearby, including those staying at a stretch of landed properties as well as the One Amber condominium, voiced concerns over whether the safety of their homes and the nearby roads are affected by the large sinkhole.
Some also told CNA that there had been a burst water pipe at the same area on the previous night.
Speaking to the media while at the incident site, Mr Goh, who represents Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC, said agencies are still assessing the situation.
“They’re making sure that the entire area is safe and secure before further restoration works are put in place,” said Mr Goh, who is also Minister of State for Social and Family Development.
“That would include draining the area, especially the sinkhole, extracting the vehicle from the sinkhole and doing our best to make sure that the roads are being restored as quickly as possible,” he added.
The agencies on the ground include national water agency PUB, the Building and Construction Authority, the Land Transport Authority, the Singapore Civil Defence Force and the Singapore Police Force, the MPs said.
Mr Goh said the first course of action was to ensure the ground is stable.
“PUB is actually deploying additional technology radar systems to scan to make sure that we are fully aware of what the situation is (and) there are no additional casualties before we approach what the restoration works should be,” he said.
The sinkhole opened next to a PUB worksite near the junction of Tanjong Katong Road South and Mountbatten Road at about 5pm on Saturday.
One car fell into the water-filled sinkhole. Its driver was pulled from the sinkhole and taken conscious to Raffles Hospital.
The woman was “fine” and being monitored in hospital
Mr Goh acknowledged that the road closures and water drainage situation had inconvenienced residents, but said that authorities should approach the situation “safely and systematically”.
“Agencies are all working their very best to ensure that we restore the area as quickly as possible,” he said.
Ms Gho said there was no approximate timeline for the restoration works yet, but that authorities working “day and night” to ensure the road’s restoration.
Tanjong Katong Road South lies at the boundary between Mountbatten Single Member Constituency, where Ms Gho is the MP, and Mr Goh’s ward in Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC.
Speaking to CNA, a family living in a landed home on Tanjong Katong Road, which runs along Tanjong Katong Road South, said they heard a loud booming sound at about 5.48pm.
The water pressure in the house dropped drastically at the same time.
One of the residents, who did not want to be identified, said he looked out and saw four to five workers from a nearby construction site pulling a woman out of the sinkhole.
They showed CNA footage of what appeared to be a burst water pipe occurring near the area after midnight on Saturday, before the sinkhole appeared.
The family said they were woken up by the sound of water gushing from a work site at the junction of Mountbatten Road and Jalan Seaview.
This work site is located near the location of the sinkhole that appeared on Saturday afternoon.
The residents said they called the police but were unsure when the water stopped gushing.
Another One Amber resident also witnessed a similar incident in the early hours of Saturday morning.
At around 1am, Ms Mathilda Lam, 27, who works in healthcare, saw what looked like a “huge fountain” near the junction where the sinkhole opened. It is unclear if this is the same burst pipe incident seen by the family living in the private home.
“It was at least a storey high, and there were some people around there trying to fix it,” she said.
Some residents told CNA they were concerned about the safety of the area following this incident.
A Tanjong Katong resident, who declined to be named, said she frequently drives along the road where the sinkhole opened.
“I’m worried, because one section caved in, how safe is the rest of the road?” she asked.
Mrs Aishwarya Sheoran, who lives in One Amber, said she was worried because the sinkhole is quite large and is also relatively close to her block.
“I think they should come out and assure us … don't worry, nothing is going to happen,” she said, adding that she has not heard a response from the condominium management.
Her husband, Mr Naveen Sheoran, said he is confident that the building’s foundation is strong.
“I'm not too concerned, because I'm pretty sure the foundation is very solid and this is a street further away,” he said. But he added that it would be helpful if the building management gives residents some kind of assurance.
A One Amber security guard told CNA that several residents had also asked the condo security about safety issues related to the sinkhole, but added that no cracks have been observed in buildings so far.
Some residents in the condominium also appeared unconcerned about the developments and were seen playing tennis and barbecuing food in the evening, while the authorities continued their work on the affected area.
The sinkhole is about 2m to 3m deep and as wide as two lanes of the road, PUB’s director for the water reclamation network Mr Herman Ching said.
PUB was arranging “ground penetration radar” to scan the area and make sure there were no other cavities below ground, he said.
Recovery work would start after that and involve draining the water from the sinkhole, lifting the car out, and filling the sinkhole to restore the road, he said.
Mr Ching added that the safety of the workers remained a priority and that PUB would proceed with the works carefully.
Asked what the cause of the incident could be, he said: “We don’t have enough information to be certain. We will be looking into it and we will investigate further.”
He also said that there was no “major disruption” to water supply in the area.
A few households could experience low water pressure and PUB was making alternative arrangements to back up the water supply, he said.
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Their comments come as residents living nearby, including those staying at a stretch of landed properties as well as the One Amber condominium, voiced concerns over whether the safety of their homes and the nearby roads are affected by the large sinkhole.
Some also told CNA that there had been a burst water pipe at the same area on the previous night.
Speaking to the media while at the incident site, Mr Goh, who represents Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC, said agencies are still assessing the situation.
“They’re making sure that the entire area is safe and secure before further restoration works are put in place,” said Mr Goh, who is also Minister of State for Social and Family Development.
“That would include draining the area, especially the sinkhole, extracting the vehicle from the sinkhole and doing our best to make sure that the roads are being restored as quickly as possible,” he added.
The agencies on the ground include national water agency PUB, the Building and Construction Authority, the Land Transport Authority, the Singapore Civil Defence Force and the Singapore Police Force, the MPs said.
Mr Goh said the first course of action was to ensure the ground is stable.
“PUB is actually deploying additional technology radar systems to scan to make sure that we are fully aware of what the situation is (and) there are no additional casualties before we approach what the restoration works should be,” he said.
The sinkhole opened next to a PUB worksite near the junction of Tanjong Katong Road South and Mountbatten Road at about 5pm on Saturday.
One car fell into the water-filled sinkhole. Its driver was pulled from the sinkhole and taken conscious to Raffles Hospital.
The woman was “fine” and being monitored in hospital
Mr Goh acknowledged that the road closures and water drainage situation had inconvenienced residents, but said that authorities should approach the situation “safely and systematically”.
“Agencies are all working their very best to ensure that we restore the area as quickly as possible,” he said.
Ms Gho said there was no approximate timeline for the restoration works yet, but that authorities working “day and night” to ensure the road’s restoration.
Tanjong Katong Road South lies at the boundary between Mountbatten Single Member Constituency, where Ms Gho is the MP, and Mr Goh’s ward in Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC.
RESIDENTS' VOICE CONCERNS OVER SAFETY
Speaking to CNA, a family living in a landed home on Tanjong Katong Road, which runs along Tanjong Katong Road South, said they heard a loud booming sound at about 5.48pm.
The water pressure in the house dropped drastically at the same time.
One of the residents, who did not want to be identified, said he looked out and saw four to five workers from a nearby construction site pulling a woman out of the sinkhole.
They showed CNA footage of what appeared to be a burst water pipe occurring near the area after midnight on Saturday, before the sinkhole appeared.
The family said they were woken up by the sound of water gushing from a work site at the junction of Mountbatten Road and Jalan Seaview.
This work site is located near the location of the sinkhole that appeared on Saturday afternoon.
The residents said they called the police but were unsure when the water stopped gushing.
Another One Amber resident also witnessed a similar incident in the early hours of Saturday morning.
At around 1am, Ms Mathilda Lam, 27, who works in healthcare, saw what looked like a “huge fountain” near the junction where the sinkhole opened. It is unclear if this is the same burst pipe incident seen by the family living in the private home.
“It was at least a storey high, and there were some people around there trying to fix it,” she said.
Some residents told CNA they were concerned about the safety of the area following this incident.
A Tanjong Katong resident, who declined to be named, said she frequently drives along the road where the sinkhole opened.
“I’m worried, because one section caved in, how safe is the rest of the road?” she asked.
Mrs Aishwarya Sheoran, who lives in One Amber, said she was worried because the sinkhole is quite large and is also relatively close to her block.
“I think they should come out and assure us … don't worry, nothing is going to happen,” she said, adding that she has not heard a response from the condominium management.
Her husband, Mr Naveen Sheoran, said he is confident that the building’s foundation is strong.
“I'm not too concerned, because I'm pretty sure the foundation is very solid and this is a street further away,” he said. But he added that it would be helpful if the building management gives residents some kind of assurance.
A One Amber security guard told CNA that several residents had also asked the condo security about safety issues related to the sinkhole, but added that no cracks have been observed in buildings so far.
Some residents in the condominium also appeared unconcerned about the developments and were seen playing tennis and barbecuing food in the evening, while the authorities continued their work on the affected area.
PUB SCANNING AREA FOR OTHER CAVITIES
The sinkhole is about 2m to 3m deep and as wide as two lanes of the road, PUB’s director for the water reclamation network Mr Herman Ching said.
PUB was arranging “ground penetration radar” to scan the area and make sure there were no other cavities below ground, he said.
Recovery work would start after that and involve draining the water from the sinkhole, lifting the car out, and filling the sinkhole to restore the road, he said.
Mr Ching added that the safety of the workers remained a priority and that PUB would proceed with the works carefully.
Asked what the cause of the incident could be, he said: “We don’t have enough information to be certain. We will be looking into it and we will investigate further.”
He also said that there was no “major disruption” to water supply in the area.
A few households could experience low water pressure and PUB was making alternative arrangements to back up the water supply, he said.
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