China's meteorological authorities Tuesday forecast rainstorms will continue to batter flooded areas in central and eastern China near the Yangtze River over the next three days.

Heavy rain will hit some regions in the provinces of Guizhou, Sichuan, Hubei, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui, and is also expected in Chongqing Municipality, the China Meteorological Administration said.

Southern Qinghai, eastern Inner Mongolia, eastern Liaoning, central Gansu and western Yunnan will also receive heavy rain over the next three days.

Rain-triggered floods are affecting millions of people in regions along the Yangtze River.

As of Monday, heavy rains since July 8 had affected 18.3 million people in 10 provinces and municipalities, leaving 43 dead and 18 missing, according to the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters (SFDH).

The floods have destroyed 39,000 homes, forced the evacuation of 755,000 residents and affected 974,000 hectares of crops, resulting in direct economic losses of 10.6 billion yuan (1.57 billion U.S. dollars), according to the SFDH.

At a press conference in Beijing Tuesday, Ministry of Health spokesman Deng Haihua said the flood-hit regions had not reported any cases of epidemic or public health emergencies.

Deng said the ministry had dispatched five expert teams to eight hard-hit provinces to supervise the health relief and disease control since the end of June.

The ministry ordered local health authorities and health workers to prepare for disaster relief, epidemic monitoring and control, and supervision of the quality of food and drinking water.

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