UK to provide £2.5m in humanitarian support to Jamaica
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has announced that the UK will provide £2.5 million of emergency humanitarian funding to Jamaica.
Relief supplies and technical experts from the UK have also been deployed to assist with disaster response and recovery efforts following the devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa.
Speaking during Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, Sir Keir Starmer told the House of Commons: “The scenes of devastation emerging from Jamaica are truly shocking.”
According to the FCDO, £2.5 million of funding will be used to provide emergency supplies such as shelter kits, water filters and blankets.
The Prime Minister also told MPs that the warship HMS Trent had been “pre-positioned in the area” to provide support.
As many as 8,000 Britons are understood to be in Jamaica and the FCDO has appealed to them. record your assets to get updates on the hurricane.
A specialist FCDO team traveled to Miami to provide consular assistance to affected British nationals
In a statement about X, King Charles said he and Queen Camilla were “deeply concerned and deeply saddened to see the devastating damage caused by the ferocity of Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica and the Caribbean.”
“First of all, we share our sincerest condolences with the families, friends and loved ones of those who tragically lost their lives,” the statement said. The statement was included.
Hurricane Melissa, now a category three and heading towards the Bahamas, hit the south coast of Jamaica for the first time with maximum sustained winds of 295 km/h (185 mph); It was the strongest wind on Earth so far this year.
These speeds were faster than that of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, one of the worst storms in history.
Due to the loss of communications, the true extent of the disaster is unknown.
Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness declared the island a “disaster area” on Tuesday, warning of “devastating impacts” and “significant damage” to hospitals, homes and businesses.
Three-quarters of the country was left without power overnight and much of the west coast of Jamaica was flooded; Houses were destroyed by strong winds after the hurricane ripped through the island with devastating force.
Families and friends in the UK had difficulty communicating with Britons in Jamaica.
Rayanne Walters, 26, from London, says her messages were not forwarded to her friend in Jamaica.
“We tried calling him. After a few minutes the phone went dead.
She told the BBC: “I’m really upset and heartbroken. I really want to know my friends are okay. There’s just one tick on all the phones.”
Yvonne Williams, a teacher from Leeds, was also unable to contact her sister.
He said: “I haven’t been able to contact my sister since the storm made landfall around 5pm.
“I kept waking up periodically throughout the night and trying to get through it.”
Kyle Holmes, from Bolton, was visiting the Caribbean island for his mother’s wedding when Hurricane Melissa hit.
Mr Holmes, his wife and three little children, Hiding in hotel rooms for 20 hours.
“It was like being in a war zone; it was terrifying,” he told BBC North West Tonight. “All the windows were shaking and things were being thrown at us.”
Even though Melissa has now cleared Jamaica, there will still be some thunderstorms on the island.
The National Hurricane Center warns that additional rain of up to 8-15 cm (3-6 inches) could fall in some areas, and up to 76 cm (76 cm) in mountainous areas.
Some areas will remain under water, and there is a risk of flash floods and multiple landslides in mountainous areas that could continue until Wednesday night.
