PETALING JAYA, May 13 — Get your umbrellas ready as rain is due in most parts of the country in the coming week.

This, according to the Meteorological Department, could also result in floods in certain areas.

A department spokesman said the southwest monsoon would continue to bring rain and storms from the Indian Ocean.

"There are no signs of the stormy weather abating. We are in for a prolonged rainy season with daily showers and thunderstorms,” he said.

"April to November also sees typhoons forming in the Pacific, typically cutting through the Philippines and causing further rain and wet weather.”

He added this could aggravate flooding which had occurred in the east coast in recent days.

"There is an on-going storm in the South China Sea which has caused increased rain along its outer rim of the east coast.

"We do not expect this to dissipate anytime soon. It will cause increased rainfall and thunderstorms to east Malaysia, especially in Sarawak.”

He said the state with the least rainfall was Negri Sembilan, which could see little or no rain in the coming week. Penang could experience hot mornings and thunderstorms in the afternoons.

The weather would bring over 300mm of rainfall over the year, higher than the average 250mm of rain the nation normally receives.

On Tuesday, it was reported half a million volunteers had been drafted into the National Disaster Management Agency, bringing its total strength to 1.5 million personnel.

This was in preparation of heavy and erratic rainfall that could cause floods nationwide, according to the National Resources and Environment Ministry.