Following the large-scale damage that floods caused in the country last year, the authorities are preparing well in advance for the monsoon season this year.

Standing by are 1,775 rescue boats, 20 helicopters and 13 units of Bailey bridges - portable pre-fabricated truss bridges.

Almost 4,600 evacuation centres and 1,200 health workers have also been prepared, the Malaysia Star reported.

The equipment would be sent to flood-prone and low-lying areas soon, Datuk Seri Najib told reporters after chairing the Management and Disaster Relief Committee meeting yesterday.

'From our experience, the water rises very fast in these areas. So, in such circumstances, if we don't have the assets (like boats) in place when it floods, these areas will be cut off from the outside world,' he said.

'Once the water level rises, the equipment will already be there, instead of having people wait for it to be sent after floods have hit.'

Other measures include ordering the Drainage and Irrigation Department to continue deepening the riverbeds, as well as directing government-owned media organisations to frequently flash weather information, especially to those in areas expected to be hit.

Mr Najib warned that floods are unavoidable this year. Calculations by the meteorological department are already predicting a heavier-than-usual rainfall from next month until January.

He said the government was alerting the public on the possibility of floods to give them time to be prepared, possibly even for evacuations.

Malaysia will be keen to avoid the chaos that rising waters caused last year, when the government spent RM61 million ($25.6 million) on flood relief for victims and infrastructure repair.

At the height of the floods last December, at least 29 people died and 34,000 people were displaced, mostly from the states of Kelantan, Pahang, Johor and Kedah.

The air force had to parachute about 32 tonnes of essential items - including rice, sugar, milk and flour - for evacuees after most of the districts' land routes were cut off by the floods. The worst-hit villages and towns were covered by flood waters up to 2m high.

Mr Najib said the public should not worry about aid such as food as there would be sufficient supply.

Although it is an annual phenomenon for rain to pound Malaysia's north-eastern states from November to February every year, the authorities have said the felling of hillside trees has created deadlier results compared to a decade ago.

The number of trees, which are nature's 'sponge' to absorb excess water that will otherwise flow into rivers, has been reduced to such an extent that water is now flowing downstream more rapidly, leading to stronger and faster currents. Hence, riverbanks are spilling over at a swifter rate.

The flood waters last year also wreaked havoc on the world's largest producer of palm oil, as Malaysia's palm oil plantations were destroyed, causing tonnes of palm oil fruits to rot.