Onn Hafiz said that he had ordered for every asset and early warning system to be checked to ensure that they were in good condition.

He said that in the meeting to coordinate preparations for the northeast monsoon, several action plans and detailed flood mitigation measures were discussed.

“The meteorological department (MetMalaysia) can issue a warning three days before continuous heavy rain in the affected districts.

“Therefore, every district officer has been directed to hold a disaster coordination meeting within 24 hours after receiving the warning,” he said in a Facebook post last night.

Onn Hafiz said Johor also proposed that “gotong-royong” programmes be held to clean drains and ditches in every district and village, especially in flood hotspots, to reduce the risk of sudden rise in water levels.

He said MetMalaysia had warned that the northeast monsoon would hit the country from Nov 11 and would last till March.

Meanwhile, he said the meeting also discussed the issue of pollution in rivers including Sungai Tebrau, Sungai Skudai, Sungai Kim Kim and Sungai Selangkah, which needs immediate attention.