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  Channel NewsAsia 12 Jan 05
More reports of soil erosion as rain continues islandwide
By Rita Zahara

Channel NewsAsia 11 Jan 06
 Heavy rain causes soil erosion at NUS Business School
By Rita Zahara, Channel NewsAsia

SINGAPORE : Heavy rain caused part of a slope next to the National University of Singapore Business School to collapse on Wednesday.

Experts ruled out a landslide but say slope failures of such magnitude were rare in Singapore. Within minutes, the soil along the slope at the NUS Business School shifted. It destroyed the landscape outside the school and a stretch of drain at the foot of the slope.

Experts said it could have been caused by the heavy downpour, loosening the soil and causing the slope to give way.

Besides, the western part of Singapore sits on hard rock or residual soil. Hence, slope failures are more common in areas like the NUS, Jurong and Bukit Timah.

Associate Professor Lee Fook Hou, Geo-Technical Engineer at NUS, said: "The first thing that people normally need to do is to prevent more water from getting into the soil, to prevent moisture from getting in. The next thing is to rebalance the slope to reduce the driving force."

Since the slope gave way, structural and geo-technical engineers were on site to control the damage.

Public Utilities Board officers, who were also at the scene, said they have not had cases where drains were destroyed due to soil erosions. The damaged drain and continuous rain led to flooding in the area, making ratification work difficult.

Ian Tan Eng Kiong, Senior Manager of Estate Maintenance at NUS, said: "Currently we have experts to look into the slope stabilisation for the entire campus. "Some preliminary investigations have been done and I would say that the building is safe and the community should not be alarmed." - CNA/de

Channel NewsAsia 12 Jan 05
More reports of soil erosion as rain continues islandwide
By Rita Zahara

SINGAPORE : There have been more reports of soil erosion as rain continues to pour over Singapore.

At the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, heavy downpour caused some soil movement near the top of the hill, says NParks. This comes a day after some 70 metres of slope at the NUS Business School in Kent Ridge nearly collapsed due to soil erosion. Rectification work has begun to ensure that the area is safe.

Following the near-collapse of the slope next to the NUS Business School on Wednesday, geo-technical experts and engineers are not taking any chances. They have installed monitoring devices to check for any shifts in the buildings, and put up precautionary measures including cordoning off the affected area.

Associate Professor Lee Fook Hou, Geo-Technical Engineer at NUS, said: "The fail part is actually quite far forward of the building, so it is quite likely the fail portion would have past underneath the piles of the building. "So I would say that the piles would remain untouched but perhaps I think it is a good thing to put in a few sensors to monitor the movement of the building at the same time."

Elsewhere in the campus, thorough checks are being carried out. Ian Tan Eng Kiong, Senior Manager of Estate Maintenance at NUS, said: "Our management has already engaged a consultant to do a risk assessment of all the slopes within NUS. "Experts are being engaged and some risk assessment has been done. In fact, some of the areas which considered, so called there is a bit of high risk, measures have been taken.. doing soil nailing and so forth to ensure the stabilisation of the slopes."

The eroded slope has since been covered with canvas to prevent more water from seeping through as workers work in the continuous rain, trying to pump out water overflowing from the broken drains.

The Meteorological Service said the current spell of rainy weather should improve during the weekend. They said there would be more sunshine this weekend and in the coming week, though showers of short duration can still be expected. - CNA/de
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