24m-tall tree that fell on Tanglin CC after Saturday's rain finally cleared 2 days later
SINGAPORE – A tree which fell onto Tanglin Community Club last Saturday (April 17) evening, after heavy rain, is said to have damaged some of its classrooms.
The National Parks Board said it was alerted to a fallen West Indian locust tree (Hymenaea courbaril) in Malcolm Park, off Whitley Road, around 8.30pm, following intense rainfall that day.
The tree was more than 24m tall with a girth of 4.6m, and the debris was cleared by 5pm on Monday.
The Straits Times understands that no injuries were reported.
NParks said its trees are generally inspected once in six to 24 months with higher frequency depending on the locality and age of trees. The trees are also regularly pruned to improve their structure and balance.
This is stepped up during periods of adverse weather conditions to reduce the risk of such incidents.
As an added precaution, advanced inspections of trees more than 4m in girth have been carried out since November 2016.
Chinese language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao reported that the incident occurred around 6pm on Saturday, and affected two classrooms.
A pottery teacher and an assistant were in one of the rooms when the tree fell onto the building, but neither was injured.
ST has contacted the People’s Association for comment, and asked whether repair works are under way.
Heavy rain on Saturday afternoon caused flash floods across Singapore, especially in western and central areas, in Dunearn Road near Sime Darby Centre, and the park connector along Ulu Pandan Canal, with high water levels in adjacent drains and canals.
The heaviest rainfall of 161.4mm was recorded in western Singapore from 12.25pm to 3.25pm that day.
A tree branch also fell onto a car in Lower Delta Road on Saturday, smashing its windscreen.
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