For example, when rainfall saturates the soil, it can undermine the integrity of the ground beneath Singapore’s concrete jungle. And with structural weakening, there is the potential for more holes in the ground, “leading to greater risks of sinkholes”.
Conversely, droughts can lower the water table — the boundary between water-saturated and unsaturated ground — and weaken the soil.
A 2018 study in the United States showed that for every 0.1 degrees Celsius increase in global temperature, sinkhole occurrences increased by 1 to 3 per cent, Chua cited.
While construction practices in Singapore have been “well-managed”, hence the low occurrence of sinkholes, climate change means the protocols must become increasingly stringent, he urged.
HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF
Low occurrence does not mean no occurrence either. In 2013, sinkholes appeared on Clementi Road, Commonwealth Avenue West and Keppel Road. Excavation for Downtown Line Stage 2 also ruptured an underground water pipe, causing a sinkhole on Woodlands Road.
WATCH: Sinkholes in Singapore — Can we really avoid them? (22:27)
