At least four dead, thousands evacuated in Malaysia floods

At least four people have died and nearly 41,000 evacuated in Malaysia after floodwaters caused by "unusual" torrential rains lasting days swept through several states, officials said.

Local reports and social media posts showed images of flooded roads, submerged cars, waterlogged homes and rows of shops shuttered in the affected areas, mainly in the southern state of Johor near neighbouring Singapore.

The rains have continued unabated, hampering relief efforts.

Police said at least four people have died since Wednesday, including a man whose car was swept by floodwaters and an elderly couple who drowned.

Nearly 41,000 people from six states -- but mostly from Johor -- have been evacuated to schools and community centres where food, water and clothes were provided.

The latest fatality was a 68-year-old woman who drowned near her flooded house after she left an evacuation centre in Segamat town in Johor, police said.

Malaysia is facing unprecedented continuous torrential rain from the annual monsoon season that began in November. Its worst flooding in decades took place in 2014, forcing about 118,000 people to flee their homes.

The Southeast Asian nation often experiences stormy weather around the year's end, with seasonal flooding regularly causing mass evacuations and deaths.

"Forest and land clearings in the upper reaches of our rural areas, towns and cities lead to our rivers and drains choked with soil erosion and they cannot contain the increased volumes of rainfall.