Hurricane damage ‘painful beyond words’ – Charles
THE Prince of Wales has described how the damage to the environment, loss of life and general destruction caused by the hurricanes which ripped through the Caribbean was “utterly heartbreaking”.
Charles, speaking after meeting families made homeless by Hurricane Irma and organisations that responded to the disaster, said it was “painful beyond words to see the devastation”.
The prince’s comments came during the first day of his three-day visit to the Caribbean – a personal mission to see for himself the damage wreaked by hurricanes Irma and Maria.
At a reception in the Antiguan capital of St John’s, attended by the governorgeneral of Antigua and Barbuda, Sir Rodney Williams, and the country’s prime minister, Gaston Browne, Charles said: “It was painful beyond words to see the devastation that was so cruelly wrought across the Caribbean by hurricanes Irma and Maria in those few, terrible weeks in September.
“In Barbuda as well as in the British Overseas Territories of Anguilla, Turks and Caicos, and the British Virgin Islands; in Dominica, and in Puerto Rico, Saint Martin and other islands too, the loss of life and property and the damage to the natural environment have been utterly heartbreaking.”
Charles’ visit, which began on Friday, started as the UK Government reaffirmed its commitment to “stand by” the islands devastated by the natural disasters and announced a further £15m in support.
The new International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt, who is joining the prince during his brief Caribbean tour, launched the financial package – £12m for Dominica and £3m for Antigua and Barbuda.
With the £15m initiative – plus £15m recently allocated for the affected Overseas Territories of Anguilla, the British Virgin Islands (BVI) and Turks and Caicos – the UK Government has now committed £92m to help recovery and reconstruction in the region.
The prince was making his first official visit to the Commonwealth nation whose island of Antigua escaped the worst of Hurricane Irma, but neighbouring Barbuda bore the brunt of its destructive powers as did the BVI.