Determined to thwart risk of becoming “Sinkapore”, Singapore prepares for perfect storm peril

Masagos Zulkifli

Singapore: Climate Change has conjured up apocalyptic images of low-lying island states, going under in a matter of decades. 

With unabated greenhouse gas emissions and global warming, triggering melting ice sheets, the rising sea-levels could soar dramatically by 1 meter by 2100, according to climate scientists. The dream city-state of Singapore with a population of 5.86 million faces such a nightmare scenario. A diamond-shaped island of 721.5 sq km located at the southern tip of the Malayan Peninsula, and 137 km north of the Equator, the Republic’ s highest point is Bukit Timah hill at 165m. Heavily built with skyscrapers, the “little red dot” stands for the most part 15m above but almost a third is less than 5 meters above sea level. This term was coined by former Indonesian President B.J. Habibie on August 4, 1998 to describe Singapore dismissively as a small red dot on world maps. “Singapore is among cities to face ‘unprecedented consequences due to climate change by 2050, including more severe storms and drought,” said a study by Crowther Labs in Switzerland.

The peril is of a ‘perform storm’ in which a severe tropical storm caused a surge of waters toward Singapore which could not be kept out as a heavy rainstorm inland holds up the water level. A precedent was the 1953 perfect storm in the North Sea that sent towering sea waves over and above the dykes in the Netherlands resulting in the deaths of 1,800 people. “Kiasu” Singapore, a local term for fear of losing mindset, is taking the warning seriously. “Climate change science tells us it is not a matter of ‘if’ the sea level will rise but a matter of ‘when’ and ‘how much’,” said the Minister for Water Resources and Environment, Mr. Masagos Zulkifli. It has set a monumental task for the government “to ensure that our little red dot does not disappear below the waves.” To prepare for a ‘perfect storm’ the government has unveiled a $400 million program to deepen and upgrade its drainage system over the next two years. This is on top of the $1.8billion on drainage improvement works.

In addition, the authorities are funding a $7.35 million study on sea-level rise in a tropical setting and its impact on the island. To be sure Singapore has been taking various defensive measures against the encroaching sea. These include raising reclaimed land from three to four metres above the sea-level since 2011 and strengthening coastlines with seawalls and rock slopes. Other pre-emptive steps are looking into using the Dutch system of dykes and storm surge barriers as well as amphibious modes of housing. A model is the Maasbommel in the Netherlands that features concrete barges holding down light-timber frame construction on the top. Come high water and rain, Singapore is determined not to be Sinkapore.