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.