The Orchard Road Flood has come and gone with not even a hint of human drama. We lost an opportunity to demonstrate the stoicism of Singaporeans, able to bounce back from disaster and get back to our regular lives the day after. We did not have a chance for all residents of Singaporeans, regardless of nationality, race or creed, to come together to support our brothers and sisters of Orchard Road. Our celebrities did not get the chance to perform in a charity concert: OrchardAid, and weep on television for the innocent Hermes bags caught in vicious result of Global Warming (now called Climate Change). The valiant SCDF personnel were pictured rescuing a particularly distraught mannequin.
NTUC Income fired off the first salvo yesterday in a “Stop The Press” moment of inspired genius. Perhaps they were intending to “spoil the market”, who knows, they might have taken a quick look at their client list and realized that none of the businesses affected insured with them. Whatever the case, I have to applaud the big cojones that decided to run that ad, rushed out just in time. If NTUC Income now starts rejecting insurance claims because of one clause or the other, this PR stunt might just backfire.
The term “Acts of God” had been mentioned twice in two days of this story being in the headlines of the Straits Times, of how some insurance policies do not cover it, but how does one define this so-called “Acts of God”. Depending on what you believe in, sure enough, rain can be an “Act of God”.
PUB has issued a statement that, as far as a common reader such as myself is concerned, tantamount to an admission of negligence on their part in their sewage checking regime. They check once every three months. We have weather forecasts, which presumably did report heavy rains. Does anyone at PUB actually check the weather reports? Do they check sewers for clogs when heavy rains are expected, or after the floods have done the damage? The rain may be brought upon by an “Act of God”, but it does appear that the flood was caused by “Human Negligence”. The proof is printed on the Straits Times. Perhaps the legally educated types would care to comment on this lay interpretation.
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