MALACCA • Nearly 900 people in the south-western Malaysian states of Johor, Malacca, Negeri Sembilan and Selangor have been evacuated due to flooding caused by heavy rain on Sunday, media reports said.

A total of 443 people had been moved to eight relief centres in Selangor, State Fire and Rescue Department assistant director Mohd Sani Harul said in a statement yesterday, according to The Star.

The figure was a jump from the 309 tallied earlier, said the daily.

Meanwhile, in Alor Gajah, Malacca, 355 flood victims had been moved to four relief centres as of 9am yesterday, state news agency Bernama said.

It cited Alor Gajah District Civil Defence officer Mohammad Fairul Asikin Kadir as saying the evacuation began when the area started flooding at 8.40pm on Sunday night.

In neighbouring Negeri Sembilan state, a three-hour downpour on Sunday afternoon caused a flash flood in the Bandar Springhill township and Kampung Sendayan, said the New Straits Times.

The deluge near Bandar Springhill caused a 3km traffic jam, it said.

The Sunday downpour also inundated two villages in Pontian, Johor, forcing the evacuation of 61 residents on Sunday night, reported Bernama.

Pontian district officer Kamarudin Abdullah told Bernama yesterday that the waters had subsided.

"But they (the residents) are not allowed to return home yet as the water level might rise and cause another flood," he said.

Flooding may also affect the eastern state of Sabah later this week, the authorities warned, as Typhoon Melor hits the region.

The typhoon, which will bring heavy rains and strong winds of between 64kmh and 80 kmh, is expected to hit Sabah's interior and western areas on Thursday and Friday, after sweeping through the Philippines, The Star reported.

State Meteorological Department director Abdul Malek Tusin said that the affected areas should brace themselves for flash floods.

He also called for a halt to all sea activities as the tail effects of Typhoon Melor would be able to cause waves of up to 3.5m.