UK’s Caribbean territories braced for Maria’s impact

UK troops and island residents are bracing themselves as Hurricane Maria sweeps through the Caribbean.

After rolling by the British Virgin Islands early yesterday, the US National Hurricane Centre (NHC) said the storm has decreased to a category four as it begins to barrel towards the Turks and Caicos Islands.

The centre said preparations against a “life-threatening storm surge and rainfall, flooding and destructive winds” should be “rushed to completion”.

Relief workers are striving to secure debris left strewn after Irma, as loose items have the potential to make the coming hurricane “more hazardous”.

Brigadier John Ridge of the UK’s Joint Task Force, said officials are “continuing to track Maria” as it rolls through the Caribbean region.

International Development Secretary Priti Patel said: “This is an unprecedented crisis with two hurricanes of such brutal force hitting the Caribbean in less than a fortnight.

“Families have lost their homes, lives have been ripped apart and the victims of Hurricane Irma are now facing the new threat of Hurricane Maria.

“But they should know, the UK Government is working flat out to put the right supplies in the right places to cope with the fallout from this new hurricane.”

The Foreign Office is advising against all travel to the British Virgin Isles and all but essential travel to Montserrat, Turks and Caicos and Anguilla.

Dominica, where Maria made landfall on Monday, suffered “widespread devastation” at the hands of Hurricane Maria, the country’s prime minister Roosevelt Skerrit said.

The island lost nearly all its communications as the storm knocked out phone lines and the island’s broadcast service, and 70% of properties lost their roofs according to reports.

More than 1,300 UK troops are in the Caribbean after being sent to help with relief and repair work after Irma.

An additional 42-strong military resilience team has also been deployed to the British Virgin Isles, ready to offer support and assistance.

Brigadier Ridge said secure buildings, ranging from hotels to government buildings and shelters that are “as safe as possible”, have been identified for the military to “hunker down in”.

RFA Mounts Bay has moved out the way of the hurricane to safety, but the moment the storm has passed through it will be “pushed back in again”.

HMS Ocean, which is carrying another 60 tonnes of aid to complement 75 tonnes of relief items that have already arrived, will drop anchor in the region this weekend.

Foreign Office minister Sir Alan Duncan told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “This has been a fortnight of just relentless catastrophe.”

He described suggestions that the UK could have reacted quicker to Hurricane Irma as an “utterly unfounded accusation”.

HMS Ocean, which is carrying 60 tonnes of aid to the area.