Death toll from Malaysia floods climbs as clean-up efforts continue

The death toll from Malaysia's worst floods in years has risen to 46, with five people still missing, as work crews continue a massive clean-up.

Majority of the fatalities were in Selangor and Pahang states, Inspector General of Police Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani said on Saturday.

"There are still five people missing. We hope they will be found soon," he told a press conference.

He said 54,532 people were still in more than 300 evacuation centres across seven states and 68 roads remained closed due to flooding.

Work crews used backhoes and lorries to remove items strewn across the streets outside people's homes, Acryl Sani said as he called for caution because some rivers remained swollen.

READ MORE: Malaysia floods kill over dozen people, displace thousands

Worst floods in recent years

Days of torrential rain caused rivers to overflow last weekend, swamping cities, cutting off major roads, and forcing tens of thousands of people to flee their homes.

Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim had earlier urged the government to hold a public inquiry following the widely criticised flood response.

Poor coordination between government agencies and the delayed deployment of the military "turned the response to the natural disaster into a human, governance disaster", he said.

Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob has admitted there were "weaknesses" but pledged improvements in future.

The Southeast Asian nation is hit by floods annually during the monsoon season, from November to February, but those throughout the weekend were the worst since 2014.

Global warming has been linked to worsening floods. Because a warmer atmosphere holds more water, climate change increases the risk and intensity of flooding from extreme rainfall.

READ MORE: Deaths and displacements as floods ravage Malaysia