(AFP) Four children were killed and thousands evacuated after torrential rain hit three states, reports said today.

After days of widespread flooding in Johor, Terengganu and Pahang states, thousands of people have been evacuated to relief centres, The Star newspaper said.

The latest victims in the southern Johor state were Ahmad Noor Amin Mohamad Bakri, aged five, and four-year-old Maisarah Mohamad Izam.

Two other victims in Terengganu were four-year-old twin brothers Hassan and Hussein Shapie.

Police said all four victims fell into a fast-flowing drain in flood-hit areas.

The deaths bring the total toll from flood-related incidents to 11. Other victims include a mother, her three children and an elderly neighbour who died last Thursday after a mudslide hit their home in Johor.

The two earlier flood victims were Abdul Manaf Muda, 67, and Tang Thie, 83.

Relief centres

Police said 8,541 people in Johor and 2,271 in Pahang were still in relief centres.

Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi urged local authorities to do more to prevent floods.

Abdullah said the floods in Pahang's Kuantan town, which had never been flooded before, was the result of rivers bursting their banks.

He urged action against people who throw rubbish into rivers and drains, causing them to clog up and overflow after heavy rain.

The rain was also affecting vegetable growers in central Pahang state's Cameron Highlands, causing huge losses to more than 2,000 farmers.

Farmers' association secretary P Sambasivam said about 25-30 percent of farms had been affected by the rain, mainly because roads were damaged and productivity was down.

"We are praying that the rain will stop in a few days. Otherwise, we are afraid another major mudslide will occur again," he said.

A major Cameron Highlands landslide killed seven people in January last year.