Hurricane Melissa: “Specialist rapid deployment teams” and HMS Trent ready to respond after "shocking" storm
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“Specialist rapid deployment teams” and military personnel are ready to respond after a huge storm hit Jamaica and the Caribbean.
Hurricane Meilssa wrecked havoc in the region yesterday and is currently passing Cuba. Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer announced that £2.5m of emergency humanitarian aid will be provided, describing the scenes from Jamaica as “truly shocking”.
He confirmed to the House of Commons that HMS Trent, a Portsmouth-based Royal Navy offshore patrol vessel, is “pre-positioned in the region” to provide disaster relief support. Funding will go towards emergency supplies including as shelter kits, water filters and blankets, according to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). British experts are being deployed to the region to help co-ordinate and deliver aid.
Speaking during Prime Minister’s Questions, Mr Starmer said: “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 added: “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.”
Whole towns have been left underwater in Jamaica, with one of the island’s airports flooded and four hospitals damaged. Seven people were killed by the storm before it even made landfall yesterday (October 28), three in Jamaica, three in Haiti and one in the Dominican Republic, while one person has been reported missing.
Alongside HMS Trent, HMS Medway is still in the Caribbean after recently leaving the Bahamas. Armed forces minister Al Carns confirmed that further personnel are ready and waiting. He added: “The British military stands ready to support the region as Melissa makes landfall. HMS Trent is currently positioned nearby in the Caribbean and is ready to provide disaster relief as required. Troops have already deployed to the Turks and Caicos Islands to support preparations. Our thoughts are with all those affected by the hurricane.”
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A specialist FCDO team has travelled to Miami to provide consular assistance to affected British nationals. 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. The Us National Hurricane Centre in Miami reported yesterday that Hurricane 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. Residents in Cuba have been warned to remain sheltered, while those in the Bahamas have been urged to prepare for the storm to hit later today (October 29). The Jamaican government hopes to reopen airports tomorrow (October 30) 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.”
A Royal Navy spokesperson said: “HMS Medway has handed over to HMS Trent for Atlantic Patrol Tasking, which is an annual commitment by the UK to help islands in the Caribbean, including providing a maritime presence in the region to offer disaster response support if required.”