Monsoon surge hits outdoor businesses and bazaars; some face up to 50% losses

Non-stop rainfall in Singapore is expected to last until Friday (Mar 21), with flood risk warnings having been issued at several locations.

SINGAPORE: Incessant rainfall over the past two days has caught some outdoor business owners off guard, including stall owners at Kampong Gelam’s Ramadan bazaar.

They said their takings have plunged by up to 50 per cent, but some have decided to turn to online sales and innovative menus to make up for losses.

The ongoing monsoon surge is expected to last until Friday (Mar 21). The authorities first warned about potential flash floods on Monday, and issued flood risk warnings at several locations from Wednesday onwards when non-stop heavy rain hit.

According to the national water agency PUB, over the past two days, Jurong West recorded the highest total amount of rainfall at 318mm. The highest amount of rainfall in the east was 298.4mm.

These exceeded Singapore's average monthly rainfall of 209.7mm in March, PUB said in a Facebook post on Thursday. 

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

Travellers have been advised to defer non-essential travel to Johor this weekend, with the March school holidays and heavy rainfall causing heavy traffic at the Woodlands and Tuas checkpoints.

This article was originally published on Channels News Asia. Its inclusion on this website is solely for education purposes.