This happened a while ago and I had written it up somewhere else but it would be remiss of me not to include it here as well. That tree looks magnificent, doesn't it? Even in its fallen state, one could easily see how it was probably majestic when it was upright.
You know how sometimes on routes you are so familiar with, you almost do not pay attention and drive by rote? You think, "What could possibly happen on a routine 40-minute drive home?" However, something totally unexpected did occur on the evening of 14 May 2008.
It had stormed the whole day and finally stopped by the time I was leaving for home at 5pm. I was driving along Stevens Road towards Bukit Timah, just before the turn into Andersen Road, when I saw this huge tree starting to topple. And I said to myself, "Oh my Lord, that tree is gonna fall!" It was all very slow motion and it was a wonder that I could stop without crashing into the car ahead of me, so mesmerised was I with the movement of the falling tree.
This tree was so huge that after it had fallen, it covered the whole of my side of the road, comprising of 3 lanes; the middle divider comprising of a big drain with grassy patches on each side; and two lanes of the opposite road. Cars and buses were squeezing on what's left of the one lane, hitting branches along the way. Our side is totally impassable, of course. So, I called the police to report the incident, they were confused as usual but one can't really blame them since one had to be there to believe it anyway. The concept of a tree falling onto the road near to the town centre must be unfathomable, even if the tree did look old (for those unfamiliar with this stretch of road, it is just around the corner from Scotts Road which soon leads to Orchard Road, the heart of Singapore's shopping district).
After the call, I came out and checked out the scene. I got talking to the two men whose cars were ahead of me. The first car was literally mere inches from the branches of the fallen tree, it's a miracle that it did not get hit at all. So I asked the driver, a middle aged Chinese man, if he was ok. He said yeah rather dismissively. I said, "Man, that was close, God is really shining on us today" and I got NO reaction from the two men! One would think there would be some sort of gratitude to have been spared any injury. Gotta say, I couldn't help doing a mental eye-roll.
I turned around and saw that there was already a congestion of cars behind us and I thought that we would be stuck here forever waiting for the authorities to cut way the fallen tree. However, some clever folks back there told others behind them to start backing off and head towards a turn a few metres behind us which would allow us to make a u-turn into the opposing lane. Seeing how everyone was disappearing fast, I quickly followed suit and soon made my way home.
Interestingly, when I reached home, I received a follow-up call from the police. They asked if I was still there, was the condition still the same, etc. This was 40-50 minutes after my call, I might add. Considering the circumstances, one would think the response time would be faster. Surely those affected are not expected to sit there twiddling their thumbs for 40-50 minutes!
Anyway, in this case of ancient tree vs man, I'm glad it ended up in a draw.
This tree was so huge that after it had fallen, it covered the whole of my side of the road, comprising of 3 lanes; the middle divider comprising of a big drain with grassy patches on each side; and two lanes of the opposite road. Cars and buses were squeezing on what's left of the one lane, hitting branches along the way. Our side is totally impassable, of course. So, I called the police to report the incident, they were confused as usual but one can't really blame them since one had to be there to believe it anyway. The concept of a tree falling onto the road near to the town centre must be unfathomable, even if the tree did look old (for those unfamiliar with this stretch of road, it is just around the corner from Scotts Road which soon leads to Orchard Road, the heart of Singapore's shopping district).
After the call, I came out and checked out the scene. I got talking to the two men whose cars were ahead of me. The first car was literally mere inches from the branches of the fallen tree, it's a miracle that it did not get hit at all. So I asked the driver, a middle aged Chinese man, if he was ok. He said yeah rather dismissively. I said, "Man, that was close, God is really shining on us today" and I got NO reaction from the two men! One would think there would be some sort of gratitude to have been spared any injury. Gotta say, I couldn't help doing a mental eye-roll.
I turned around and saw that there was already a congestion of cars behind us and I thought that we would be stuck here forever waiting for the authorities to cut way the fallen tree. However, some clever folks back there told others behind them to start backing off and head towards a turn a few metres behind us which would allow us to make a u-turn into the opposing lane. Seeing how everyone was disappearing fast, I quickly followed suit and soon made my way home.
Interestingly, when I reached home, I received a follow-up call from the police. They asked if I was still there, was the condition still the same, etc. This was 40-50 minutes after my call, I might add. Considering the circumstances, one would think the response time would be faster. Surely those affected are not expected to sit there twiddling their thumbs for 40-50 minutes!
Anyway, in this case of ancient tree vs man, I'm glad it ended up in a draw.
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