He was with 13 members of the Terengganu Civil Defence Force when strong currents swept the truck away at about 2.15pm. The group was rescued by a Civil Defence Force team in a boat 15 minutes later.

Maliaman apologised to flood victims in Hulu Berang as all the food aid, including rice, sardine cans and clothing were lost, but he promised to arrange assistance as soon as possible.

He also said hundreds of flood victims from the Felcra Gunung Menerong resettlement project near Ajil in Hulu Terengganu, who had sought refuge in a nearby hilly area after their houses were flooded, had been rescued.

Naqiuddin Hakimi Khairul Anuar, 31, a family member of one of the flood victims, said he managed to contact his sister, Fazeera Izyanie, 29, at around 6pm and was told that residents from Kampung Felda Tersat had banded together and brought boats to ferry those trapped in the area.

The plight of the trapped victims became known after photos and videos showing hundreds of them escaping the floods went viral this morning.

In Kelantan, the fire department’s rescue operation was hampered when 300 residents from three villages – Kampung Pengkalan Pauh, Daram Buaya and Kampung Wakaf Bunut, all in Pasir Puteh – refused to be evacuated to relief centres.

Pasir Puteh fire station chief Azhar Elmi Mustofar said the villagers did not want to leave their homes for fear that their houses would be broken into.

70-year-old man is first flood death

Kelantan also saw the first fatality in the floods when the body of a 70-year-old man was found today.

Kuala Krai district police chief Suzaimi Mohammad said the victim, Mohammad Ishak, was found drowned in Kampung Kuala Gris near Dabong at 7pm about 200m from where he was reported missing.

“Members of the public saw a floating body stuck to a tree in the river near where the victim was reported to have fallen.

“The victim’s body was taken to the Kuala Krai Hospital for a post-mortem,” he said in a statement here today.