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Moulmein-Cairnhill

Flood History

26 February 2022

Discover how floods once shaped daily life in Singapore's Pek Kio area. Watch videos on the worst floods and learn how a flood gauge still stands as a reminder of the past.

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Black and white photo of people wading through floodwater on Owen Road with buildings and trees in the background.

Flood at Owen Road in 1974.
Source: National Archives of Singapore.

Imagine a dreaded scene of heavy thunderstorms, overflowing muddy water all around you as high as your knees, stranded cars, submerged corridors and waterlogged furniture in homes, and helpless people waiting for the rain to stop.

Black and white 1955 map of Singapore showing Norfolk Estate and Durham Estate with surrounding roads labeled.

Picture credit: Singapore Street Directory 1955

The whole area – bound by Owen Road, Dorset Road and Norfolk Road - was extremely flood prone from the 1950s to 1970s, inundating the area almost every year between December and February.

Two children ride small bikes through a flooded street, laughing, with storefronts and vehicles in the background.

1954 was a year of several serious floods. On 27 February, an estimated 76 mm of rain flood many areas such as Rochor Road,  Thomson Road, Balestier Road, Orchard Road and Farrer Park (Pek Kio Estate). Flood waters, (0.6 ‚Äì 1.2m deep) in some areas, affected hundreds of homes and many more people.

The Worst Flood History in Singapore

Haji Misiri, a resident of Pek Kio, vividly remembers these floods, “Once, in the 1970s, the flood came so quickly, we were not prepared for it. I had to swim,because if I walked, I couldn't see drains or holes in the grounds.

Click to watch the video on the history of the worst floods in Singapore

Watch Video (opens in new tab)

The Flood Gauge

Located at the junction of Cambridge Road and Carlisle Road, this old one-metre flood gauge serves as a reminder of the frequent floods that occurred in this area, especially in the seventies. Such flood gauges were installed at many low-lying areas in Singapore then, to record the depths of the waters and the severity of the floods. Not many are left standing today.

Click to watch the video of MP Alvin Tan's first parliamentary speech on 2 September 2020, where he mentions the flood gauge that still stands in Pek Kio as a poignant reminder of the past floods and the effects of climate change. Alvin Tan is the Minister of State for Trade & Industry and Culture, Community & Youth, Adviser to Tanjong Pagar GRC GROs (Moulmein-Cairnhill)

Watch Video (opens in new tab)

Black and white photo of people wading through a flooded Owen Road with buildings and trees in the background.
Black and white photo of people wading through a flooded Owen Road with buildings and trees in the background.