China donates $200,000 to Agaton relief operations

China donated $200,000, or around P10.2 million, to the Philippines in support of the country’s Tropical Storm Agaton relief operations, Ambassador Huang Xilian announced Monday.

“Our hearts go out to all the Filipino families who were devastated by TropicalSstorm Agaton,” said Xilian on Facebook.

“Chinese President Xi Jinping, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi sent respectively messages of sympathy and solidarity to President [Rodrigo] Duterte and Foreign Secretary [Teodoro] Locsin today,” he said.

The envoy added that the Chinese government hoped that the affected families would be able to “overcome the difficulties and rebuild their homes at an early date".

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) earlier reported the death toll from Agaton remained at 172 as of Monday morning.

Of the fatalities, 156 were from Eastern Visayas, 11 from Western Visayas, three from Davao, and two from Central Visayas.

The number of missing individuals, meanwhile, still stood at 110.

Authorities assured search and rescue operations would continue as they hoped that more survivors could still be rescued. — DVM, GMA News