In business, it takes a while to make money and almost no time at all to lose it.

And this was exactly what happened on Saturday evening, Dec. 24, when a flood hit Upper Thomson Road eateries and various businesses near the Upper Thomson MRT Station construction site.

According to The New Paper, The Roti Prata House located along that flooded stretch suffered losses of about S$15,000.

Two of their chillers fell over, while spices, gravy and rice were destroyed by the rising waters that reached knee-level.

The flood started at around 5.30pm and subsided by 7.30pm, but staff had to clean up the mess until 4am as the water brought in soil and cockroaches.

Business could only resume on Monday.

A few shops down, ice cream parlour Udders threw away almost S$3,000 worth of ice cream eventually.

One refrigerator suffered a short circuit and the shop staff turned off all equipment out of fear of being electrocuted, as the water rose.

The flood also brought with it centipedes and dead rats that floated from the drain.

The employees closed the shop at 5.30pm to clean up, and resumed business at around 8.30pm.

Nearby shop Tai Huat Tyres and Batteries lost one of their five machines used to fixed tyres to cars. The equipment can cost up to S$10,000.

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