PUTRAJAYA: Johor was hit by yesterday's downpour as the number of flood victims rose to 1,481 as of 6am, says Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
The deputy prime minister said they had combined efforts with the Disaster Management Agency (Nadma), the Civil Defence Forces (CDF) and the district Disaster Operations Control Centre (PKOB) to evacuate the victims.
Zahid, also the rural and regional development minister, said four districts were affected - Mersing, Johor Baru, Kluang and Kota Tinggi.
Those affected are placed at 13 temporary flood relief centres across the state, with Kota Tinggi having the highest number of evacuees at 720 victims.
"Although I told the cabinet last Wednesday that the number of flood victims has gone down to 48, as of 6am, it has risen to 1,481 from 385 families at 13 evacuation centres. The flood has moved to Johor.
"I coordinated Nadma, CDF and the PKOB in evacuation efforts right after we received the early warning.
"I'm confident the Johor menteri besar and district officers would go down to help the flood victims," he told reporters after delivering the Rural and Regional Development Ministry's mandate today.
On Tuesday, it was reported that Johor had fully recovered from the floods, with the remaining 23 victims at a flood relief centre in Segamat having returned to their homes.
However, yesterday, continuous rain due to the Northeast Monsoon season caused flash floods in several districts in the state.
The Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) has issued a "bad level" heavy rain warning for several areas in Johor, which is expected to last until Sunday.
MetMalaysia, in a statement, said the areas involved were Segamat, Kluang, Mersing, Kulai, Kota Tinggi and Johor Baru.
It also issued an alert level warning of continuous heavy rain until Sunday for Batu Pahat and Pontian, as well as Kuantan, Pekan and Rompin in Pahang.