Nick, 32, and his wife were in a shop along East Coast Road on the afternoon of Aug. 1 when they suddenly heard a loud thud outside. They didn’t think much of it until a shop assistant approached them and asked if it was their car parked outside. “I went to the door and saw a tree on my car,” Nick said. Fortunately, no one was injured.
Background
Nick later discovered from the restaurant manager and staff from other shops that a branch from the same tree had fallen on the night of Jan. 26, injuring three people. He also learned that NParks had assessed the tree three days prior to the fall and determined it was ill and needed to be chopped down. Nick and his wife quickly called their insurance company and NParks after the incident.
“The tree would have fallen on us should we have gone out of the car any later,” said Nick
Nick expressed his concern about the recurring danger, noting that many pre-school children and patrons frequent the area. “It felt really dangerous to have the same incident occurring at the same place,” he said. Since the incident, Nick switched his car’s baby seat to the left side and warned passengers to be cautious if they were sitting on the damaged side. The couple also filed a claim against NParks.
Tree was cleared and removed on the same day
The National Parks Board (NParks) confirmed to Fathership that they were alerted to a fallen tree incident involving a Yellow Flame Tree at 693 East Coast Road at 4:21 pm on Aug. 1. “There were no reported injuries, and the tree was cleared and removed on the same day. NParks has also carried out precautionary checks and pruning on the surrounding trees,” the organisation stated. According to the NParks website, a Yellow Flame Tree can grow up to 20 metres tall and is popular for roadside planting due to its drought-resistant nature.
Safety measures and future implications
Nick shared that he hoped his experience might help others be better equipped to handle similar situations in the future. He emphasised the importance of timely action and awareness, especially in areas frequented by children and the public. The incident has raised questions about the effectiveness of tree assessments and the need for more rigorous checks to prevent such occurrences.
