China has provided flood-hit Nepal with financial assistance totaling $2.2 million, as the country faces widespread destruction from severe flash floods. Nepal’s government said China contributed 350 million Nepali rupees, valued at about $2 million, while the Chinese Red Cross provided a further $200,000. On Sunday, Chinese Ambassador Zhang Maoming handed a cheque for 350 million Nepali rupees to Nepalese Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle, and the Red Cross aid was also transferred to the government.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang expressed deep sorrow over the deaths and property losses caused by the disaster. Through Ambassador Zhang, they conveyed condolences to families of those killed and said Nepal was not alone in the crisis, adding that China would always stand beside Nepal.

The flash floods struck northern and central Nepal last Wednesday, possibly after a major collapse of ice and rocks or an avalanche near the Nepal-Tibet border. The Bhote Koshi River carried floodwaters southward, sweeping away homes, vehicles, roads and bridges and damaging hydropower projects. Nepal’s death toll has reached 919, with about 4,250 people still missing. In Tibet, flooding killed 16 people and left around 550 missing.