Many of us younger Singaporeans who live in high-rise flats would be lucky to never have experienced flood, thanks to the excellent drainage system we have. But for the older generation of Singaporeans, the monsoon season brought along invading flood waters that the entire household – and community would have to work together to fight off!

Image courtesy of the National Archives

i like sharing my experiences from the past so as to give the younger generation a glimpse of how life was like in the 60s. floods visited us a few times every year, especially during the north-east monsoon season, when we lived in a kampong more than 30 years ago.

when it rained heavily and for sometime, we would be prepared for the milk-tea (teh susu) colour flood water entering our homes. the drains would overflow first and when the water level rose above the threshold, water would get into the house. initially, we would try to fight the ‘tide’ by using used cloths and old towels to build ‘embankment’ and to seal up the entry points but once the water entered the house, we would just be resigned to cleaning up after the water had receded.

How did people deal with floods back in the old days? Find out more on yg’s blog.

Tags: Flood, 60s Singapore