Britain pledges £32m for hurricane aftermath
PM TO ‘DO WHAT IS NEEDED’ IN WAKE OF WEATHER TRAGEDY
BRITAIN HAS bolstered the funds available for tackling the aftermath of Hurricane Irma as it continues to lay waste to the Caribbean.
Theresa May announced £32m has now been released to assist the relief effort, up from £12m, after devastation was unleashed on British overseas territories. The military has parachuted a group of experts into the affected areas of the Atlantic to provide support while the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) Mounts Bay ship is transporting supplies.
At least six people are known to have died on the island of Barbuda, which has been left “barely habitable” after the category-five storm flattened swathes of the Caribbean.
Speaking after a meeting of the Government’s emergency Cobra committee, the Prime Minister said: “No-one can fail to be affected by the absolutely desperate plight of people in the Caribbean who have been hit by Hurricane Irma and my thoughts and prayers are with all those affected, particularly with British nationals in the overseas territories of Anguilla and the British Virgin Islands.”
French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said four were confirmed dead and 50 injured on the island of St Martin. One death was also feared on the nearby island of Anguilla, a British overseas territory that was among the first islands to be hit.
THE BRITISH military is deploying a task group to provide support to the Caribbean as Hurricane Irma continued to cause carnage.
A group of “mixed expertise” will be sent to the region following the category five storm, which has killed at least 10 people and cut a trail of destruction, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said.
More than a million people were left without power on Puerto Rico while Barbuda was said to have been left “barely habitable” after the hurricane passed overhead, leaving around 60 per cent of the island’s approximately 1,400 people homeless.
An MoD spokesman said: “There will be a range of strategic aircraft, helicopters, and the task group will be made up of marines, engineers, medical advisers.
“The numbers and timelines of how many and when are still being worked out. We are also working out which airfields are available in the region.”
He added: “The aim is to offer support, hopefully clear the roads and get as much support there ahead of Hurricane Jose which is due in the coming days.”
The Royal Fleet Auxiliary Mounts Bay naval ship has also been deployed to the region with humanitarian supplies. Airports in the Bahamas are shutting down as the massive storm approaches while Florida is on high alert with the storm forecast to hit at the weekend.
The storm destroyed nearly all buildings on the island of Barbuda on Wednesday, killing a twoyear-old child as a family tried to escape, before wreaking havoc on the French territories of St Martin and St Barts.
At least eight people were killed and 23 injured in French Caribbean island territories, while one death was reported on the nearby island of Anguilla, a British overseas territory that was among the first islands to be hit.
Officials reported extensive damage to its airport, hospitals, shelters and school and said 90 per cent of roads are impassible, according to the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency, which also reported “major damage” to houses and commercial buildings in the British Virgin Islands.
Thousands of British tourists believed to be holidaying in the Caribbean have been urged to follow evacuation orders, while states of emergency have been declared in Puerto Rico, Cuba and Florida. Its winds have fallen slightly to 175 mph (285 km/h), and the storm is forecast to remain a category 4 or 5 over the next few days. As thousands of Florida residents begin evacuating and others board up their homes, President Donald Trump urged people to “be careful, be safe”.
In a tweet, Mr Trump remarked that Irma “is raging but we have great teams of talented and brave people already in place and ready to help”.
Irma was last night about 120 miles south east of Grand Turk island, part of the Turks and Caicos Islands. The British Overseas Territory is set to be hit by the storm.
Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon said the hurricane has “devastated” the area, leaving it difficult to know the scale of casualties. He said: “We’re hearing reports now of casualties, of people who have been hit by flying debris sadly but again some of the governors (of the islands) haven’t got accurate reports.”
The aim is to offer support, hopefully clear the roads. A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence.