Henan flood death toll climbs to 71

The death toll from the deadly downpours and flooding in Central China's Henan province rose to 71 as of noon on Tuesday, according to the provincial government.

About 13.3 million people in 150 county-level areas were affected. More than 1 million hectares of crops were affected, with about 148,000 hectares wiped out. More than 15,000 houses collapsed due to the flood, it said.

Li Changxun, deputy head of the province's Department of Emergency Management, said at a news conference that the top priority for the province is to pay close attention to typhoons, strengthen accurate forecasts and early warnings, repair water conservancy facilities, strengthen flood control works, and make every effort to prepare for the second round of heavy rainfall.

At present, a total of 17,636 PLA soldiers, armed police and militia reserves and 247 boats have participated in the rescue. As of 4 pm Monday, charitable organizations and Red Cross societies in Henan province had received a total of 4.95 billion yuan ($760,000,000) in donations, and 3.866 billion yuan has been allocated, Li said.

"We will continue to ensure the safety of post-disaster recovery, reconstruction and the resumption of work and production in enterprises, taking targeted measures to eliminate all kinds of hidden dangers in time and prevent secondary disasters and safety accidents caused by flooding," he said.

Post-disaster garbage removal and epidemic prevention and disinfection are other key aspects, and the authorities will continue to clear water, mud and fallen trees on a large scale, he added.