Written Reply to Parliamentary Question on Factors Determining the Decision to Build Civil Defence Public Shelters in Housing Estates

Question:

Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) what are the considerations behind the decision to construct a civil defence public shelter within a given housing estate; (b) whether the scarcity of such shelters in non-mature estates such as Sengkang and Punggol are due to the in-built shelters in HDB units; and (c) whether HDB considers such shelters as comparable in safety to the public shelters.

Answer:

Mr K Shanmugam, Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Law:

1. In times of war, residents have little time to seek protection. It is relatively safer to remain at home, than being out in the open trying to reach a public shelter. Therefore, since 1998, we have required all residential developments to have either a shelter in every household unit, or a common shelter on each storey or within the staircase of a building.

2. Public shelters such as at underground MRT stations, schools, and community centres are now mainly for those conducting essential activities outside, such as distributing food rations and supplies.

3. All civil defence shelters, whether residential or public, are designed in accordance with the technical specifications set by the Singapore Civil Defence Force, and provide protection against blast and fragmentation effects.

4. We have assessed residential shelters to be the most effective protection approach, and will continue to adopt them as the primary means of shelter for the public during times of war.