KUALA LUMPUR (BERNAMA, THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - The north-east monsoon is expected to start from Monday (Nov 13) and continue until March in the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak.
"Heavy rain is expected in Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang and Johor in November and December.
"In December and January, heavy rain is more focused on west Sarawak, north and east Sabah," the Meteorological Department said in a statement.
Continuous rainfall for up to three days which could cause floods in low-lying and flood-prone areas can be expected.
"If the heavy rains fall at the same time as the high tide, the risk of floods occurring is higher," it added.
The public is advised to be prepared to face the monsoon season as well as be alert to warnings of heavy rain issued by the department through its website www.met.gov.my, the myCuaca smartphone application, on Facebook (malaysiamet), Twitter (@malaysianmet), SMS 15888 and MMD Hotline 1 300 22 1MET (1638).
In Penang, a major storm cloud has drifted over the area on Saturday (Nov 11) and heavy rain has started to fall over many parts of the island.
The Malaysian Meteorological Department issued a storm warning at 9.10am on Saturday, predicting thunderstorms and strong winds over Penang, northern and central Perak, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Negri Sembilan and Melaka.
In Kedah, a storm lashed two villages near Alor Setar, uprooting dozens of trees and ripping off the roofs of at least 11 homes.
The affected villages were Kampung Alor Ali in Tokai and Kampung Rambai in Tanah Merah, both in the Pendang district.
Civil Defence Force (APM) and Rela personnel as well as firemen and policemen were despatched to help affected villagers and clear fallen trees.
Pendang APM operations officer Sjn Zulkifli Man said the storm swept across both villages at about 5.40pm on Friday, lasting about 15 minutes.
"At Kampung Alor Ali, five families with 26 members were affected while six families with 30 members from Kampung Rambai were affected.
"A fibre glass workshop in Kampung Rambai was destroyed and a car parked nearby was damaged by its fallen zinc roof," Sjn Zulkifli said, adding that a house in the same village was damaged by a fallen tree.
In Skudai, Johor Baru, residents in flood-prone areas are bracing themselves for the worst after flash floods hit several villages.
Several in Kampung Laut escaped the floodwaters on Thursday, but others staying nearer to Sungai Skudai were not so lucky.
One of those affected is 52-year-old retiree Abdul Rahman Kunchamed, whose home is opposite a trench connected to the river.
"I was resting at home when it started raining. I became worried when the downpour continued for about 45 minutes.
"Water soon gushed into my house through the kitchen.
"We packed up whatever we could and escaped to a nearby mosque which was not affected," he said on Friday.
Abdul Rahman said the water rose to just below his knees throughout his house.
University student Azatul Akmar, 19, was at her home when the hour-long downpour started at 3.30pm.
"We kept an eye on the water level at the trench and as soon as we saw it almost spilling over onto the road, we started moving household items to high shelves and onto furniture.
"Luckily, part of our house is on stilts, so we transferred our electrical appliances to that side," she said.
