Sat | Oct 5, 2024

UK to assist Caribbean countries hit by Beryl

Published:Saturday | July 6, 2024 | 12:06 AM
Hurricane relief supplies being loaded on a truck in Guyana and destined for Grenada, following the passage of hurricane Beryl. The United Kingdom announced it will be making donations to Eastern Caribbean countries, including Grenada.
CMC
Hurricane relief supplies being loaded on a truck in Guyana and destined for Grenada, following the passage of hurricane Beryl. The United Kingdom announced it will be making donations to Eastern Caribbean countries, including Grenada.

Newly appointed foreign secretary of the United Kingdom (UK) David Lammy says his government is moving to provide financial support to meet the needs of those severely impacted by Hurricane Beryl in the Caribbean.

Britain’s new Prime Minister Keir Starmer appointed Lammy as foreign secretary after his Labour Party won a landslide victory over Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives on Thursday.

In what is likely to be one of his first assignments, Lammy said the UK would be providing support in the sum of £500,000 for Caribbean countries most affected by the destruction of Hurricane Beryl.

The financial support is providing immediate relief to meet the needs of those whose homes and livelihoods have been impacted.

Hurricane Beryl, the earliest storm of Category 4 strength to form in the Atlantic, devastated sections of the Eastern Caribbean before it unleashed its fury on the southern coast of Jamaica and other parts of the country.

The financial support from the UK includes 800 emergency shelter kits – capable of supporting up to 4,000 people. These have already been dispatched to Grenada and St Vincent and the Grenadines after their islands suffered devastating damage earlier this week.

The emergency shelters, along with 1,620 buckets for households to collect and store water, have been sent from supplies pre-positioned in the region as part of the UK’s preparedness plans.

“Our thoughts remain with those who have lost loved ones, their homes or have been left without power,” Lammy said, adding: “This funding will help support disaster recovery efforts, as part of a swift and coordinated response in the region.

“That such a storm has developed so early in the season shows that we are facing a climate emergency and must act now,” the UK foreign secretary declared.

Following a request from the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), the UK has also provided support for deployment of regional teams to assist the national disaster offices with emergency operations, relief and logistics management, telecommunication, security issues and sectoral assessments.

editorial@gleanerjm.com