Upper Bukit Timah residents mostly relieved to find no damage to their homes after WWII bomb disposal

SINGAPORE: Residents who had to evacuate for the disposal of a World War II aerial bomb in Upper Bukit Timah were mostly relieved to find no damage to their homes when they returned on Tuesday evening (Sep 26), although some Hazel Park residents spotted damage in certain common areas of their condominium.

CNA understands that more than 4,000 people were affected by the bomb disposal operation. They had to leave the area by 8am and were only given the all-clear to return around 5.10pm.

Residents whom CNA spoke to throughout the day were calm and composed, with some making special arrangements to take care of family members and pets. Others went to work and school as usual.

In the morning, residents seen evacuating Block 154 Gangsa Road cited the move as a minor inconvenience but said they made plans for the day to occupy themselves. 

When CNA visited at around 7am, a number of flats had affixed a green tag - given by the authorities earlier - around their gate to indicate that the occupants had all left. 

A resident, who wanted to be known as Mrs Kwok, said she was not worried about the situation. She was seen packing up at around 7.15am.

The 50-year-old, who usually remains at home, said she decided to schedule a medical appointment and run a few errands in the meantime, gesturing at a trolley where she kept some books to bring along. 

The housewife was more worried that her neighbour's dog, Lucas, would be "traumatised" by loud sounds.

More residents were seen leaving nearer to 8am, their deadline for evacuating. A troupe of police officers arrived at around the same time to usher residents from their flats. 

Some residents, however, returned to check on their flats and were accompanied by police officers. 

Retiree Wong Koon Choy went home to check that he had turned off the power, but left his refrigerator switched on. The 70-year-old said he would spend the rest of the day at his son's house nearby. 

Residents also told CNA how they had secured loose items ahead of the detonations. 

Retiree Jolene Sim just returned from a holiday on Sunday only to find a slip of paper under her door notifying her of the bomb and the evacuation. 

"My husband was shocked ... Only with the paper then did we realise there is something happening here," said the 60-year-old. 

Ms Sim said she had packed all her crystals and breakable items, such as tea cups. 

Asked if she was concerned, Ms Sim said: "Actually it's quite worrying, it's a big boom right? You never know what is the impact, how strong it is."

Madam Ng Kim Suan, 76, removed her vases from a glass cabinet, placing them under a wooden chair. 

The housewife's unit faced the blast site but said she was not too concerned about tremors.

HOMES, SHOPS IN SAME CONDITION AS BEFORE

Residents were notified via WhatsApp that they could return home and resume normal activities at around 5.10pm.

Mrs Kwok, who had returned to Block 154 Gangsa Road ahead of the all-clear notification and was seen waiting at the void deck of a neighbouring block, let out an exuberant "Yes!" upon receiving the good news.

She was one of the first few to enter the void deck of her housing block, just as police officers were removing the cordon. She later told CNA that all was "fine" in her flat, with nothing broken or moved around.

More residents streamed in closer to 5.30pm. Mdm Ng was one of them. Upon entering her unit, she took a cursory glance around her flat to confirm that nothing had broken. 

Everything is the way she had left it, she said in Mandarin. Her vases remained under the chair, undisturbed. 

Affected businesses in a stretch of shophouses along Upper Bukit Timah Road stayed closed the entire day, but a few people working in the area came back to do checks after the safety cordon was lifted.

One of them was Mr Cheng Lee Meng, 64, who sells roti prata at Ga-Hock Eating House, a coffee shop owned by his brother.

Mr Cheng told CNA that nothing in the coffee shop seemed to have been affected by the blasts, and added that he would do some cleaning up before the place opens for business on Wednesday morning.

“Business as usual,” he said.

AT THE EVACUATION CENTRE

Some residents headed to the evacuation centre at Senja-Cashew Community Club to wait out the day. While one family took the precaution of leaving the house with their passports, most were sanguine about the situation and took the inconveniences in their stride.

Mdm Wendy Biggs, 59, evacuated her Block 154 Gangsa Road flat along with her husband, domestic helper and their two dogs. She took unplanned leave to help care for her husband, who has a brain disease and uses a wheelchair.

Mrs Biggs initially experienced some inconvenience as she could not find someone to cover her at her operations job at short notice, but she was eventually able to take the day off.

“We’re not too concerned. My only concern is the after-effects,” she said. As someone who has asthma, she was worried about any possible environmental pollution from the detonated bomb.

All the residents expressed confidence in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) explosive ordnance disposal team sent out to do the job.

“I’m sure the people taking care of it are experienced and well-trained,” said Mr Syed Imtiaz Ahsan, 38, who lives in the affected Hazel Park condominium with his wife and toddler.

During a visit to the community club in the morning, Member of Parliament for Cashew ward in Holland-Bukit Timah GRC Dr Vivian Balakrishnan said that “so far everything is going exactly according to plan”, from the evacuation of residents to management of the traffic situation.

CNA observed that evacuation facilities at the community club were well under capacity throughout the day.

After the Singapore Police Force (SPF) announced the successful disposal of the bomb at about 2pm, project manager and mother-of-three Melinda Chee, 47, said her family was eager to return home to The Linear condominium.

“Even though the environment here (at Senja-Cashew Community Club) is good, everything well-prepared, but home is still a better place to rest.

“All of us are eager to go home and see what's happening, whether (there is) any damage at the home also, any dust,” she said.

After returning home, Ms Chee told CNA that things in her seventh-floor apartment were unchanged, and there was no dust as feared.

Domestic worker Husni, who goes by one name, returned to Hazel Park condominium at about 5.40pm, after receiving a message from her employer that she could go back.

While walking back, the 43-year-old stopped at the condo's open-air carpark, which has a view of the construction site, to snap a few photos. 

Ms Husni spent most of her day at Senja-Cashew Community Centre, and heard the explosions when both controlled detonations went off. 

“It was scary, the sound was so loud, much louder than I expected. It sounded like a big explosion,” she told CNA.

NEAR GROUND ZERO

The 100kg WWII aerial bomb was successfully disposed of after two detonations at about 12.30pm and 1.45pm.

The first detonation was accompanied by a flash of fire that rose about 4m into the air and a loud bang. Plumes of grey smoke were seen rising from the centre of the concrete blocks, portions of which were blackened.

The second explosion was as loud as the first, with dirt and sandbags displaced from the impact.

Residents of Block 153 Gangsa Road said they were surprised by how loud the explosion was, but were otherwise unaffected in their daily activities. The housing block lies just outside the evacuation zone and next to the affected Block 154. 

A resident residing on a higher floor of Block 153, Ms Irene Tang, was walking in her dining room when the blast occurred at about 12.30pm, giving her a slight shock. 

"Because, I thought, they mentioned it won't be very loud," the housewife said, gesturing at several army personnel who were stationed on the same floor during the blast. 

"I'm just a bit shocked and I said 'Wow'. My husband who was reading, said, 'Wow it's quite loud'," Ms Tang, 61, added. 

Another resident, Ms Chong Soo Ping, was seen checking out the blast site from the 21st floor of the housing block with her husband and son shortly after the first detonation.

"I was like wow, that's the one," the freelance interpreter said, when asked for her reaction to the noise.

"I thought it was amazing, the way (the authorities) plan to ensure minimal impact. I didn't feel (the) building shaking. 

"Initially, I was a bit worried because I have no knowledge of how this was going to be done. I was thinking if the tremors will affect the building structure but I trust the government to know what to do."