154media's video: Liat Towers to build anti-flood curb - 29Dec2011

SINGAPORE: Liat Towers is planning to build a 60-centimetre curb over a drain that runs along the side of the building as a last resort to keep water out of its basement. Despite the various measures put in place over the past year, the building was hit by flood again last Friday. This time, the cause has been traced to a drain that overflowed. Stretching to the back of the building, the drain mostly collects rainwater from Liat Towers' open air car park on the seventh floor. Water is then discharged into Stamford Canal. Liat Towers said the drain overflowed as Stamford Canal was at full capacity and could not take anymore rainwater, resulting in a "bottleneck". However, National water agency PUB insists Stamford Canal did not overflow, and that the gushing water could have exceeded the building's pumping capacity. Liat Towers' building supervisor Chik Hai Lam said the building has never suffered such severe flooding problems till last year. Channel NewsAsia understands PUB and Liat Towers have met several times since Friday's incident. Its latest meeting was on Thursday morning, when Liat Towers agreed to build a 60cm curb on top of its drain. The aim is to prevent water from overflowing into the basement in the event of another heavy downpour. The curb will be made of bricks and cement and is expected to cost S$20,000 to S$25,000.