KUALA LUMPUR, Jan. 1 (REUTERS) -- Johor became the latest Malaysian state to be hit by floods, with several relief centres set up late on Friday night (Dec 31) following a continuous downpour.

There were more than 650 evacuees in the district Segamat as of noon on Saturday. Nine flood relief centres are in operation.

Besides Johor, the number of residents evacuating from floods in Pahang, Melaka and Negeri Sembilan also continued to rise on Saturday as the four states brace for more heavy rain.

An orange alert has been issued by the Malaysian Meteorological Department, forecasting rain in those states until Monday.

Three rivers in Johor – Sungai Segamat, Sungai Muar and Sungai Tangkak – have already exceeded dangerous levels, according to State Health and Environment Committee chairman R Vidyananthan.

The waters in another three rivers in Pahang and two in Negeri Sembilan have also risen to dangerous levels, according to the Drainage and Irrigation Department’s InfoBanjir portal.

Floods in Malaysia have displaced tens of thousands of people since Dec 17 after unusually heavy rainfall caused flooding in several states.