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The government is organizing emergency charter flights to evacuate people British tourists stuck in Jamaicaas the number of deaths from hurricane melissa Continues to grow.
It is believed that there were 8,000 Britons in this JamaicaAnd The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has requested them to attend Through the government website to get updates on the storm.
While at all airports Caribbean island were closed in preparation for the storm, the Jamaican government said it expected to reopen them on Thursday to help with the distribution of emergency relief supplies.
The FCDO said it is working with travel companies and commercial airlines to resume flights, as well as increasing capacity by organizing a limited number of charter flights for British citizens who are unable to fly home commercially.
The department said all British nationals who have registered their presence in Jamaica will be automatically contacted and provided a link to a booking portal for flights when the airport opens.
Two specialist rapid deployment teams are traveling to Jamaica to facilitate charter flights and provide consular assistance to British nationals.
It comes after the UK announced plans to support the country with £2.5m in emergency humanitarian aid Sir Keir Starmer described the country’s scenes as “truly shocking”,
The funds will be spent on providing emergency supplies like shelter kits, water filters and blankets.
The FCDO has also set up a crisis center to help Britons on the Caribbean island. Meanwhile, the Royal Navy ship H.M.S. Trent Is in the area on stand-by.
The Prime Minister told MPs on Wednesday that the naval ship H.M.S. Trent Rapid deployment teams were “pre-deployed to the area” to provide further assistance.
In a statement on Friday, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “The strong ties between the UK and Jamaica mean that many British citizens were there during the storm’s devastation, and we need to make sure they can get home safely, as we know how anxious and difficult the last few days have been.
“The UK Government is chartering flights to increase commercial capacity and ensure those who want to return to the UK can do so as quickly as possible.”
The western region of Jamaica is believed to be particularly badly affected, including major tourist areas such as Montego Bay, while about three-quarters of the island is without power.
On Tuesday, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami said that Melissa “one of the most powerful storms on record” in the Atlantic Basin as it hit southwestern Jamaica near New Hope with sustained winds of 185 mph.
The storm has since made landfall in eastern Cuba and dropped from a Category 5 to a Category 3 hurricane.
The National Hurricane Center has warned Cuban residents to shelter in place, and urged the Bahamas to prepare for the storm, which is predicted to reach the country on Wednesday.