Heavy downpours on Thursday have created flash floods in the Bukit Timah areas as the monsoon season approaches Singapore again.

Traffic slowed to a crawl along Bukit Timah and Dunearn Roads as cars struggle to get through the floods.

Two monsoon drains were seen overflowing (one pictured above) during the heavy downpour at around 1pm on Thursday, Stomp reported.

The flood caused a major traffic jam on Bukit Timah Road and Dunearn Road, the reader who sent in the pictures told Stomp.

The pictures were taken from the Sime Darby Centre, the reader's office building. He said he was stuck in the office and late for a meeting due to the floods.

The wet spell will continue till January and flash floods are expected in low-lying and flood-prone areas including Chinatown, the Central Business District, Geylang, Lorong Buangkok and Tanjong Katong, Singapore's weatherman forecast.

According to the PUB, the national water agency, flash floods could occur over the next few months when heavy rain brought by the north-east monsoon coincides with 3m- to 3.2m-high tides.

To quell the effects of the stormy spell, PUB has invested $59 million over the last 12 months to widen and deepen drainage networks, as well as raise the roads in 10 low-lying areas such as Cuscaden Road, Mountbatten Road and Commonwealth Avenue.

a1motor@sph.com.sg

Click on thumbnail to view (Photos: Stomp, ST)