At least 17 people have been killed in Malaysia and 90,000 have fled their homes after a second bout of flooding in a month hit the south of the country.
 
Health officials were on alert on Sunday for outbreaks of disease after two people died from leptospirosis - caused by exposure to water contaminated with the urine of animals such as rats.
 

The latest floods cut off several towns in the southern state of Johor, which is a major oil palm and rubber growing region, and shut down power and water supplies.
 
Many people had just returned to their homes after the first floodwaters receded, but have been forced back to evacuation centres. 

Rosli Othman, a resident of Kluang, one of the worst-hit areas in Johor said: "We had just finished cleaning up our house a few days ago and were resting when the floods came back.
 
"Now we have to start all over again."
 
State of emergency
 
Johor is just across a narrow strait from Singapore, which has also been hit by days of heavy rain.
 
Ramlee Rahmat, a health official, urged the public not to play in dirty flood water and to wear clothes that covered their bodies to prevent them from becoming infected.
 
"But we are more concerned about food and water-borne diseases such as typhoid and cholera because those can spread fast. We are monitoring the situation," Ramlee said.
 
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, the prime minister, said late on Friday that the government had not ruled out declaring a state of emergency in Johor if the floods worsened.
 
The Meteorological Department said torrential rains in many parts of the state were expected to continue at least until Monday.
 
The damage bill from last month's floods, which displaced more than 100,000 people, was estimated at more than $28 million.

Photo caption

Map of Malaysia