He said two pump units would be installed in Surau Tambatan, Restoran Malay Village and Jalan Kampung Mohd Amin.

“Other efforts include the cleaning of litter on the ‘trash screen’ and waste deposits at the bottom of the Chat river as well as the construction of a ‘weir’ (a barrage across the river) in the upstream area,” he said in a Facebook posting.

Onn Hafiz said the drainage and irrigation department would widen and deepen the Gelang Patah river as well as widen Sungai Senapang and build a flood-retaining wall in Kampung Muafakat.

The district disaster management committee said two temporary evacuation centres in the Johor Bahru district had been closed as of 8pm today. “However, four centres are still open, two each in Pontian and Batu Pahat, housing 193 victims,” it said.