Universiti Teknologi Malaysia Campus Sustainability (UTMCS) director Fadhil Md Din said Johor was currently recording an average of 200mm of rainfall, way more than the 100mm on normal days.

“Now, we are entering the monsoon transition period. We expect it to rain from March to April and for April to May to be hot due to the El Nino phenomenon.

“The monsoon season transition this year is causing drastic weather changes, thus resulting in us getting more rainfall,” he said.

Fadhil said related agencies, including local authorities, need to intensify efforts and take proactive measures to reduce the impact of flood risks.

He said they need to clean the drains and ditches as well as prepare contingency plans for flood-prone areas like deepening the main rivers or embark on flood mitigation work.

“If we look at the floods in the rural areas like in Chaah and Segamat, most of the houses near rivers were inundated.

“Rivers have become shallow, especially due to development. They must be deepened again to accommodate heavy rainfall.

“The drainage system must function properly,” he said.

As of 4pm today, 32,870 flood victims in Johor were still placed at 219 temporary relief centres.