The death toll in the country's worst floods for two decades rose to 13 today, with 15,000 evacuated from their homes and power sub-stations shut down in the worst hit states, police said.

Raging rivers fed by incessant year-end monsoon rains during the past week burst their banks in three northeastern states, turning vast swathes of land into lakes and flooding the capital of Kelantan state, Kota Baru.

The floods forced utility giant Tenaga Nasional to shut down some 300 sub-stations and leave thousands of people in darkness, Bernama news agency said.

Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak, who visited Kota Baru and inspected the damage by helicopter, complained that he had seen young people swimming and playing in the floodwater.

"Kota Baru was like a water carnival. This is what caused the loss of lives," he was quoted as saying by Bernama .

The Kelantan floods have been described as the worst for 21 years, with Bernama reporting that some areas were under seven metres of water and most state government offices were closed.

Only the roofs of some houses were visible and many huts were totally submerged. Many roads are impassable.

Assessing compensation

Nine of the 13 deaths have occurred in Kelantan, where two more bodies were found today, while nearly 8,000 people have been moved to relief centres, a police spokesman told AFP .

Three people drowned in neighbouring Terengganu state and an Indonesian worker in Pahang state, with a total of some 7,000 evacuated from their homes in the two states, police said.

Najib, who is also chairman of the National Disaster Management and Relief Committee, said the federal government was working to ensure there was enough food and equipment to help the victims and would assess compensation.