Beijing, Jul 23 (IANS): More rainfall is expected to lash China's flood-ravaged Henan province on Friday, as typhoon In-Fa is gaining strength and churning towards the eastern part of the country, according to forecasts from the national observatory.

Torrential rain has affected about 3 million people in the province, with 33 deaths and eight people still missing, Xinhua news agency quoted authorities as saying.

On Thursday, rainstorms with up to 243 mm of rainfall hit Anyang, Jiaozuo and Nanyang in Henan, as well as parts of Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces, the National Meteorological Centre (NMC) said on Friday.

Typhoon In-Fa, the sixth of this year, is expected to make landfall in the coastal areas between Zhejiang and Fujian provinces on Sunday, according to the NMC forecast.

It is moving northwestward at about 15 km per hour and gaining strength.

The centre of In-Fa was about 650 km from Xiangshan in Zhejiang at 10 a.m. (local time) Friday, with winds of up to 42 metres per second near the eye.

In-Fa is expected to bring rainstorms to Zhejiang, Shanghai, Jiangsu and Anhui.