More than 160,000 people have been forced to flee Malaysia's worst flooding in decades, local media has reported.

According to The New Straits Times, the number of people forced to evacuate was up from 100,000 just a day earlier.

Rescue teams are struggling to reach the worst-affected areas in the northeast of the country, where at least five people have lost their lives.

Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has admitted that rescue efforts have been hampered by power outages and roads being washed away by the floods.

"I admit the situation is challenging to the rescue workers and we are trying our best to make sure that the food arrives to the victims depending on the flood situation," the Star newspaper quoted him saying.

"The severity and scale of the floods had taken the authorities completely by surprise as it was worse than anticipated, overwhelming all disaster management plans and preparations," veteran opposition MP Lim Kit Siang said in a statement.

Prime Minister Najib Razak travelled to the worst-hit state of Kelatan on Saturday, a day after cutting short his holiday in Hawaii.

He also pledged a further 500m ringgit (about €11.7m) in support for flood victims, significantly boosting the government's initial 50 million ringgit offer.

However, that has done little to ease public anger over the government's perceived slow response to the crisis.

The Prime Minister became the focus of criticism after pictures emerged of him playing golf in Hawaii with US President Barack Obama during the storms.

Forecasters have warned that the worst is not yet over for the northeastern states of Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang.

Northeastern Malaysia is regularly hit by flooding during the annual monsoon, although this year torrential rains have been unusually bad.

Originally posted at 11.15am