Where Are Singapore’s Most Flood-Prone Hotspots And What You Need To Know About Living In These Areas

I’m writing on January 14th 2025, in one of the rainiest months I’ve ever seen in Singapore. It’s a testament to our improved infrastructure that – unlike during my childhood – homes in flood-prone areas haven’t experienced serious disasters. I recall that back in the 1980s, we would have to flee to higher ground if it rained like it did this month. Back then, most homes on my street ended up with an unplanned extra pool—most often in the kitchen or living room. Here’s a look at some areas that remain flood-prone today, along with some property-saving measures to consider:

PUB does have a list of flood-prone areas, which you may want to check before buying in the area

“These are heavily built-up or low-lying areas,” you’ll say, because you’re a normal and well-adjusted person, unlike me. But being a complete property nerd, what I see is that a lot of names on the list are the pricier, high-rent neighbourhoods:

• Sennett Estate
• Meyer Road
• Tiong Bahru
• River Valley (lives up to its name when it floods)
• Bukit Timah (more toward the eastern end of the neighbourhood)
• Queenstown

One notable coincidence is that coastal areas are both pricier (because of the nice sea views) and more prone to flooding. Also, landed homes are more susceptible to flood issues and tend to be found in some of these pricier areas. So, just by sheer coincidence, there’s some overlap between high-end property zones and flood zones!

PUB’s list names general areas and roads, so we don’t know which specific projects are more affected. If resources permit, I’ll try to compile a comprehensive list of specific projects prone to flooding in the future. This is quite hard to do, as most people don’t want to lower their property value by disclosing this.

Which properties are most likely to be affected by floods?

1. Most properties built before the 1980s

It was only around the late 1980s when Singapore’s serious flood control measures kicked in and started to show a real effect (if you’re interested in history, you can read a bit about it here). Besides wider changes to the island’s infrastructure, projects from the ’80s onward incorporated flood mitigation measures. This includes elevated foundations for projects in low-lying areas, such as ensuring the Finished Floor Level (FFL) is above a certain height to stop floodwater from seeping in.

On the private property scene, measures grew to include basement floodproofing (for landed homes), permeable paving, and vegetated swales (to absorb the water), as well as simply being built in lower-risk areas.

(Some areas are now flagged as flood-prone by URA and PUB, so construction is regulated accordingly, but this information wasn’t as available to builders in our early years.)

This does mean that certain older property types—such as walk-up apartments or SIT-era projects—are more susceptible to flood damage.

2. Landed homes (especially those with basements)

As mentioned above, older landed homes may lack proper waterproofing for basement levels. Some older landed enclaves, such as Sennett Estate, are simply in lower-lying areas where flooding is more likely. The good news is that flooding in Singapore is rarely so serious as to extend beyond the ground floor, so multi-storey landed homes at least have a second or third floor to move items to.

An important warning about backyards:

If you have a service yard, open kitchen, or other unenclosed space that opens into a backyard, flooding can be much worse. The last time I was in this situation, the soil and earth from the backyard washed directly into the kitchen/service yard. By the time it receded, the floor looked like an entire SAF platoon had conducted a field training exercise there. The clean-up was not fun.

So, before you buy a landed home, it’s worth asking if there have been floods before. You might also want to check the surrounding infrastructure: look for the presence of large storm drains in lower-lying areas or signs of recent drainage works. If there haven’t been any… I wouldn’t plan on owning any expensive carpets.

3. Ground-floor units

Newer condos are better protected from flooding, but when it does happen, ground-floor units bear the brunt of it. Ideally, you want a condo that’s been well-elevated. Pinetree Hill is a good example of this, as it’s built on a hillside and raised about four storeys above road level. This doesn’t just prevent road noise; it also minimises flood risks.

Ground-floor units that are directly open to common areas (e.g., decks and patios) are more prone to flood issues. Enclosed units are not immune, but it may be easier to stem the flow of water coming in; sometimes just tucking lots of towels under the doors can do the job.

As an aside, condo underground car parks can be badly affected by flooding, depending on how the condo is designed. An incident at The Twins condo shows how quickly an underground car park can flood, although the cause was a water valve and not a natural flood. In these cases, you may not even be able to open your car door to move it.

What can you do about all this?

The first is to look at newer properties, for the reasons described above. Projects built on raised ground, or newer landed housing with better waterproofing, are likely to be among the more reliable options. In areas prone to flooding, you might consider basement areas (especially old ones without waterproofing) to be a drawback.

The second is to factor in flooding risks when making interior design choices. Certain design choices, such as parquet flooring, are going to be an expensive mistake when the water comes through the door. To use a tip from my grandfather’s era: use floor tiles, and have high tables on which you can stack other furniture.

Third, it’s important to get home contents insurance if you’re in a flood-prone area. Notice the lack of any link to an insurance company: this isn’t some kind of sponsored message. You really want home content insurance because floods will wreck electronics, cause electrical problems*, and damage furniture. You’ll be glad you can make claims for the damages. Also, home content insurance can provide a bit of cash for temporary storage or accommodation, which may come in handy while your home is being cleaned up (well mine did at least, after a flood; check the terms.)

*That’s from personal experience. When a flood affected my place, the water got into the power sockets that were lower to the ground; and the cost of the fix was alarmingly high.