Henan flooding death toll climbs to 63

The number of deaths from flooding in Central China's Henan province rose to 63 as of noon Sunday, with five still missing, a local official said.

The heavy downpours have affected nearly 11.45 million residents in 139 counties across the province, said Li Changxun, deputy head of the province's emergency management department.

Over 1.31 million residents have been relocated to safer places, he said at a news conference held in the provincial capital of Zhengzhou.

A total of 876,600 hectares of crops have been affected and more than 8,800 families' houses have collapsed, Li said.