When the Flood Became a Playground

In the monsoon season of December 1986 to January 1987, most of Singapore escaped the severe floods of earlier decades - yet for Isnimah and her family at 31H Jalan Greja, the waters still found their way in. The flood rose around their house and its surrounds, reaching knee‑high levels for adults, and waist‑deep for any child aged ten or twelve.

Their home sat close to the large drains running beside the Bedok Methodist Church compound, leading all the way to Sungei Bedok. Whenever the rains came hard, everyone knew what would follow: the big drain would overflow, and the water would spill over into their homes.

But for children, this was never only a story of inconvenience.

Born and raised in the house at 31H, Isnimah lived there until she completed her PSLE at Bedok Primary School. And she remembers that year’s flood not with dread, but with a kind of sparkling anticipation - the thrill of waiting for the water to rise just enough so she and her cousins could leap in, splash about, and turn their kampong into a giant, shimmering playground.

What could have been a gloomy end to the school year became instead a season of laughter: cousins racing through the water, splashing around the flooded paths, the whole backyard transformed into a swimming pool that belonged only to them.

By the end of 1987, her family - like the remaining households in the Jalan Greja area - would move into new HDB flats as part of the relocation programme. The new homes promised safety, convenience, and freedom from flooding. But they also meant leaving behind the magic of those watery afternoons, where joy rose as quickly as the monsoon rain.

The houses may be gone, but the memories remain - bright, playful, and unforgettable. For the children who lived there, the flood was never just a flood. It was childhood itself, rippling through their very own backyard.