Muhammed Naim Zakaria, 16, was playing near a flood-swollen river in a town in northern Kedah state when he fell in and drowned in strong currents.

"He fell into the river and was swept away," a police official in state capital Alor Setar told AFP.

At least four people have been killed in floods plaguing five states -- Perlis and Kedah in the north, Kelantan and Terengganu in the northeast and central north Perak.

Although the situation has improved with waters receding, agriculture officials in Perlis, known as one of the nation's rice bowls, said Thursday they feared rice production would be affected.

The chair of the state's agriculture committee, Khairi Hassan, estimated that more than 23,000 hectares (56,800 acres) of rice fields had already flooded.

"I am sure the rice production will be affected but how bad I cannot determine. A census will be conducted," he told the state Bernama news agency. Abdullah Zakaria, a farmer from the Perlis capital of Arau, said his two-hectare rice field had been flooded.

"That field had been my source of income. I need a lot of money for my children's school preparation," he said.

Thousands of residents in the north have been evacuated, particularly in Kedah where the number of people moved to emergency relief centres increased Thursday from 17,805 to 18,882.

In Perlis, some 10,476 people are in relief centres and another 1,803 in centres in Kelantan, police said.

While waters have subsided in most parts of the north, police said levels were still rising in Kedah's capital Alor Setar because of rivers feeding into the city.

"The rain has already stopped, but the water keeps on rising in Alor Setar," a police official said.

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