KUALA LUMPUR – Six states in Peninsular Malaysia are at risk of being hit by flash floods within the next 24 hours, if they are hit by thunderstorms amid the current rainy season.

The National Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre, a unit within the Irrigation and Drainage Department, said the affected states are Johor, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak and Selangor, Bernama news agency reported.

In a notice issued at 5pm on Monday, the centre detailed several districts which are at risk of flash floods in these states. In Johor, they included townships in Tangkak, Batu Pahat, Kota Tinggi, Muar and Pontian, with river levels expected to rise.

The notice of preparedness was issued to raise alert levels of residents around these areas, the centre said in a statement as quoted by the news agency.

Earlier on Monday, Malaysian Meteorological Department said several parts of five states were expected to receive continuous rain until Wednesday: Terengganu, Pahang, Johor, Sarawak and Sabah. THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK