UK providing £2.5m in humanitarian support to Jamaica after Hurricane Melissa

The UK is supporting Jamaica with £2.5 million in emergency humanitarian funding after Hurricane Melissa, as Sir Keir Starmer described scenes from the country as “truly shocking”.

The Prime Minister told MPs on Wednesday that naval vessel HMS Trent and “specialist rapid deployment teams” had been “pre-positioned in the region” to provide support.

The funding will go towards delivering emergency supplies such as shelter kits, water filters and blankets, according to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).

UK experts are also heading to the region to help co-ordinate and deliver aid.

At the start of Prime Minister’s Questions, Sir Keir told the Commons: “The scenes of destruction emerging from Jamaica are truly shocking.

“Both the Foreign Secretary and I have been in close contact with our Jamaican counterparts in recent days to offer the UK’s full support.

“I can update the House that HMS Trent and specialist rapid deployment teams are pre-positioned in the region, and we stand ready to provide humanitarian support.”

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “The UK is acting swiftly to support the Jamaican authorities in providing disaster relief and expertise in response to this terrible storm.

“Specialist rapid deployment teams have also been positioned in the region to provide consular assistance round the clock to British nationals affected by the devastation of Hurricane Melissa.”

A specialist FCDO team has travelled to Miami to provide consular assistance to affected British nationals, while a team from the Ministry of Defence is in the Turks and Caicos Islands to support the disaster response.

As many as 8,000 Britons are in Jamaica, and the FCDO has urged them to register their presence through the Government website to receive updates on the hurricane.

An FCDO official said: “The safety and security of British nationals is paramount.

“We’re providing 24-hour consular assistance. We’re in close contact with airlines, travel operators and Abta (Association of British Travel Agents) to ensure that they’re safe and able to return to the UK as soon as possible.”

They added that Melissa was “likely to be the strongest hurricane in Jamaica’s history” and was expected to have left towns and infrastructure “severely damaged or destroyed” with “long-duration power and communication outages” expected across the country.

The west of Jamaica is thought to have been particularly badly hit, including key tourist areas such as Montego Bay, while around three-quarters of the island is without power.

On Tuesday, the US National Hurricane Centre in Miami said Melissa was “one of the most powerful hurricane landfalls on record in the Atlantic basin” as it hit south-western Jamaica near New Hope with sustained winds of 185mph.

The Jamaican government ordered evacuations from high-risk areas and all the country’s airports are shut.

The storm has since made landfall in eastern Cuba and dropped from a category five to a category three hurricane.

The National Hurricane Centre warned residents in Cuba to remain sheltered, and urged the Bahamas to make preparations for the storm, which is predicted to reach the country later on Wednesday.

The Jamaican government hopes to reopen airports on Thursday to help in the distribution of emergency relief supplies.

An FCDO spokesperson said: “We understand how worrying developments in Jamaica are for British nationals and their families, their safety and security is our top priority.

“Our travel advice is regularly updated and includes information about hurricane season, which runs from June to November. Yesterday we launched Register Your Presence, and urge British nationals in Jamaica to sign up to receive updates.”