A villager, Manisah Sariman, 66, said heavy rain began at about 4am when she and her two children as well as a grandchild were fast asleep, adding that she was awakened by flood waters that had entered the house.

“Water rose rapidly to knee-level. We could only pray that nothing bad happens to us. Three hours later, we were told to relocate by security personnel on duty,” she said at the evacuation centre at Sekolah Agama Seri Bengkal.

A total of 69 flood victims from 22 families were taking shelter there.

Manisah said she managed to save several items and documents before fleeing.

She said it was still raining heavily when they were transferred to the relief centre but flood waters began to subside at about 10am.

In Johor Bahru, private college student Muhammad Suzaihan Kassim, 25, said he and 14 of his friends were surprised when the two-storey bungalow they were staying in near Kampung Mohd Amin was flooded.

Flood water rose to thigh level despite the presence of a huge drain behind the house, he said.

According to Suzaihan, who is from Sabah, this was the third time the house was flooded. “Last year the house was flooded twice but today’s flood was the worst,” he added