A STUDY ON FLOODING RESILIENCE OF BUILDINGS IN SINGAPORE

Abstract

Flooding, a consequence of sea level rise and climate change, affects many countries around the world including Singapore. In response to this, cities such as New York City have invested resources into enhancing their building codes and regulations to better prepare their buildings to be resilient against floods. Although Singapore has also implemented various regulations to better prepare buildings for the occurrence of floods, they are limited and have room for further improvements. Therefore, the objectives of this study are to analyse current building codes in Singapore and selected cities and gather the opinions of building professionals on current building codes both in Singapore and selected cities. Subsequently, utilise the data and literary reviews gathered to recommend relevant improvements to the current building codes and regulations. Both quantitative and qualitative research were deployed for this study using interviews and the distribution of questionnaires. Findings concluded that building professionals are familiar with the current building codes and regulations. Additionally, they also find them important in increasing a building’s resiliency against floods. It was further ascertained that they perceive the lack of capacity of the code system and upfront cost to be more probable potential barriers that will be faced when implementing these building codes and regulations. Recommendations were developed after analysing the data obtained and complementing the analyses with literary reviews. These recommendations are to develop a proper regulatory framework and have provisions and initiatives for financial aid as well as community efforts being pivotal in conjunction with government efforts.