The floods were caused by above average rainfall, which was attributed to Typhoon Utor (2006) which had hit the Philippines and Vietnam a few days earlier.

Throughout the week starting 18 December 2006,[2] a series of floods hit Johor, Malacca, Pahang and Negeri Sembilan.

During this period, these southern Malaysian states, along with Singapore, experienced abnormally high rainfall which resulted in massive floods.

[7] Later that week, beginning 22 December, North Sumatra experienced abnormally high rainfall which also caused flooding.

[18] In the early morning of 12 January 2007, floodwaters were slowly rising at Jalan Jaffar in Kota Tinggi, while the residents were all shifting their goods in preparation for the second flood.

In the morning of 13 January 2007 around 4:00 a.m., the Sungai Semberong bridge at Batu 5, Jalan Kluang-Mersing (Federal route 50) collapsed after being washed by strong currents.

[19] In Malacca , 3,193 people from 691 families from Melaka Tengah, Alor Gajah and Jasin left their homes due to rising waters.

After more than 10 hours of continuous rain, people in Kampung Rekoh in Bandar Tun Abdul Razak were evacuated to nearby community halls.

In Negeri Sembilan, the various government departments in charge of flood relief in the state were fully prepared and on standby, said Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan.

Continuous heavy rain since Monday, 18 December drenched Singapore, resulting in the third highest rainfall of 366mm recorded on Tuesday.

[26] The United States government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) provided $50,000 through the U.S. Embassy to the Malaysian Red Crescent to support emergency relief efforts.