How villagers on Pulau Ubin live with floods caused by high tide

At a former village headman's house on Pulau Ubin on March 2, a sunny day — Madam Tan Luay Ching's daughter and domestic helper were sweeping away flood waters from the porch.

- Shabana Begum

A higher-than-normal tide of 3.4m in the afternoon had caused seawater to overflow the banks nearby, spilling water into the ancestral home's porch. Come March 30 and 31, when high tides are expected to reach 3.4m again in the early afternoon, Madam Tan's house could once again be flooded even when it is not raining.

An Ubin resident all her life, Madam Tan, 86, is resigned to the fact that seawater will reach her home at least once a year.

This seasonal high tide is known as a spring tide, which occurs when the sun, moon and earth align to create the greatest gravitational pull on the sea. Monsoon surges also cause flooding on the island at times.

Such spring tides may occur a few times each year, sending seawater flowing out of drains and spilling over banks in five low-lying areas of the island. These include the main village and a few bridges. Such "daylight flooding" occurred on March 1, 2 and 3.

Speaking in Teochew, Madam Tan, who is the former village headman's daughter-in-law, said: "It is a great inconvenience every time because we need to sweep the water away and later mop the floor. But we were sort of prepared because I looked at the lunar calendar and knew when to expect the flood."

While the roughly 30 villagers on Ubin have had to ride out these seasonal floods, such coastal flooding events could worsen when compounded with rising seas.

The mean sea level around Singapore is projected to rise by up to 1.15m by 2100.