Exercise simulates flooding event at an MRT station

SMRT says its station staff undergo regular refresher training in flood preparedness

- Tang Yi Qing

It took an SMRT team of six a matter of minutes to install three columns of stackable flood barriers at one-north MRT station on the evening of Dec 12.

This was done not because the station on the Circle Line was at risk of being engulfed by flood waters. It was part of the rail operator's yearly flood preparedness exercise to get its staff ready in the event of a station flooding.

The hour-long exercise simulated a flooding event at the station near Buona Vista, based on a scenario of heavy, thundery rain with strong winds approaching from the north-east of Singapore.

As part of the exercise and SMRT's regular flood monitoring efforts, the rail operator tapped national water agency PUB's high-water-level alert system to monitor the threat of flooding.

When data simulated for the exercise showed that the waters in the Sungei Pandan Kechil waterway – the canal closest to the station – had risen above 75 per cent of the waterway's capacity, SMRT's operations control centre placed its flood response team on alert.

When the simulated data showed the waters had risen above 90 per cent of the waterway's capacity, the flood response team was dispatched to one-north station. In a real-life situation, 20 people will be activated from across the island, and they must arrive within 45 minutes.