The Malaysia Meteorological Department (MMD) told The Straits Times that the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia will be hit again by wet weather over the weekend and next week.

There could be worse to come. A Drainage and Irrigation Department official told Malaysian daily The Star that heavy showers are expected to increase by 10 to 15 per cent until next month because of strong north-east monsoon winds.

To handle flood and landslide emergencies, the Fire and Rescue Department has readied 10,000 firemen and 3,500 other personnel.

Earlier this month, floods had affected states such as Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang. Even Malacca, which is usually spared from the year-end monsoon, was inundated last weekend, washing out Hari Raya celebrations.

More than 1,500 people in Malacca were evacuated to temporary relief shelters as flood waters rose to almost 1m high in places like Alor Gajah.

In Johor, the flood situation worsened as the number of people evacuated almost doubled from 352 on Tuesday to 638 on Thursday.

Rain has also been blamed for triggering the deadly landslide in Bukit Antarabangsa last Saturday that killed four people.

But the signs so far appear to indicate that this year's floods will not be as bad as others in recent years. In 2006, for example, at least 17 people died and more than 134,000 people were evacuated as flood waters besieged Kedah, Johor, Pahang, Negeri Sembilan, Terengganu and Kelantan.

'Although it will still be rainy on the east coast, if you compare the weather over the last few years, this year's storms are milder,' an MMD spokesman told The Straits Times.

Floods have caused at least six deaths in the country so far, and the government is considering giving aid to farmers affected by the storms.

The rains have resulted in very different fortunes for farmers. In Johor, the prices of vegetables have dropped by half due to a bumper harvest. But on the east coast, people are paying up to 50 per cent more because of flood damage to farms there.chengwee@sph.com.sg