KUALA LUMPUR, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- Five people have been reported dead following adverse weather in Malaysia's northern Borneo state of Sarawak, authorities said on Thursday.

Authorities began their search and rescue efforts at 3 a.m. local time after reports of a landslide in Miri district, recovering the bodies of the victims from the rubble of a house that had been struck, according to the Sarawak Fire and Rescue Department's operations center.

Meanwhile, heavy rain has displaced 2,357 people in Sarawak, with a further 4,396 displaced in the neighboring northern Borneo state of Sabah as of 9:40 p.m. local time, according to the country's social welfare department.

Separately, Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is also chairman of the National Disaster Management Committee, urged the public to remain cautious following a continuous rain warning issued by the Malaysian Meteorological Department for several areas in Sarawak and Sabah until Friday. Enditem

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