A flight carrying British aid arrived in Jamaica early on Saturday to help with recovery efforts after Hurricane Melissa, as the UK plans its first chartered flight to bring British nationals home later on Saturday. The aid flight brought more than 3,000 emergency shelter kits as part of a £7.5m regional emergency package. Part of the funding will be used to match public donations up to £1m to the International Red Cross and Red Crescent - with King Charles and Queen Camilla among those who have donated.
Despite aid arriving in Jamaica in recent days, fallen trees and landslides have complicated distribution after Hurricane Melissa devastated parts of the island, killing at least 19 people. The hurricane made landfall in Jamaica on Tuesday as a category five storm and was one of the most powerful hurricanes ever measured in the Caribbean.
Melissa swept across the region over a number of days and left behind a trail of destruction and dozens of people dead. In Haiti, at least 30 people were killed, while Cuba also saw flooding and landslides. Jamaica's Information Minister Dana Morris Dixon said on Friday 'there are entire communities that seem to be marooned and areas that seem to be flattened'.
The UK initially set aside a £2.5 million immediate financial support package, with an additional £5 million announced by Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper on Friday. Cooper stated that the announcement came as 'more information is now coming through on the scale of devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa'. According to the British Red Cross, 72% of people across Jamaica still do not have electricity and around 6,000 are in emergency shelters. Patience is wearing thin as many people search for basic necessities.
Meanwhile, with an estimated 8,000 British nationals still on the island, the UK's first chartered flight to bring them home is scheduled to depart from Kingston's Norman Manley International Airport later today.
Despite aid arriving in Jamaica in recent days, fallen trees and landslides have complicated distribution after Hurricane Melissa devastated parts of the island, killing at least 19 people. The hurricane made landfall in Jamaica on Tuesday as a category five storm and was one of the most powerful hurricanes ever measured in the Caribbean.
Melissa swept across the region over a number of days and left behind a trail of destruction and dozens of people dead. In Haiti, at least 30 people were killed, while Cuba also saw flooding and landslides. Jamaica's Information Minister Dana Morris Dixon said on Friday 'there are entire communities that seem to be marooned and areas that seem to be flattened'.
The UK initially set aside a £2.5 million immediate financial support package, with an additional £5 million announced by Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper on Friday. Cooper stated that the announcement came as 'more information is now coming through on the scale of devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa'. According to the British Red Cross, 72% of people across Jamaica still do not have electricity and around 6,000 are in emergency shelters. Patience is wearing thin as many people search for basic necessities.
Meanwhile, with an estimated 8,000 British nationals still on the island, the UK's first chartered flight to bring them home is scheduled to depart from Kingston's Norman Manley International Airport later today.
