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Singapore’s central shopping district went into shutdown mode yesterday morning as a freak flood caused by heavy rain battered the area.

Orchard Road, which is frequented by tourists for its high-end shopping malls, became jammed with traffic on Wednesday as rescuers worked to pull out some 70 passengers from cars and buses as rain water engulfed the street.

Authorities said 100 millimetres of rainfall were recorded in the space of three hours, between 8am and 11am, representing 60 per cent of the average rainfall for June and making it the worst flooding in 26 years.

One of Singapore’s main highways was also closed for hours, blocked by a large tree that had fallen in the storm, the Associated Press reported.

The island’s Civil Defence Force said no one was injured.

Singapore’s national water agency Public Utility Board said it would now investigate why its drainage systems could not prevent the flood.

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