Kuala Lumpur - Two people drowned and thousands evacuated their homes in Malaysia in flooding caused by heavy rains, news reports said Monday.

The onslaught of the annual year-end monsoon season, which typically lasts until early January, forced more than 4,000 people from four states to live in temporary evacuation centres until water levels subside.

On Sunday, a 9-year-old girl drowned in the north-eastern state of Terengganu. Last week, the flood claimed its first victim when a car dealer in neighbouring Pahang state was swept away by strong river currents.

Every year, hundreds of thousands of people are evacuated from their homes, sometimes for weeks at a time, as heavy rains cause floods, landslides and damage to homes and infrastructure in the country's coastal towns. (dpa)