LOC13:48
10:48 GMT
LONDON, Oct 31 (KUNA) -- UK Government is mobilising a آ£5 million (USD 6.5 million) in emergency funding on top of آ£2.5 million (USD 3.2 million) announced earlier this week, to support the Caribbean regionآ’s recovery from the devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa.
"More information is now coming through on the scale of devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa, with homes damaged, roads blocks and lives lost," Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said in a statement.
"That is why the UK Government is now increasing our funding for humanitarian support to ensure we can get shelter kits, solar lamps and sanitation products to those who need it most," she said.
"We will also use some of that funding to match public donations to the Red Cross appeal in support of Jamaica," she added.
This new funding will enable the UK to send humanitarian supplies - including over 3,000 shelter kits and over 1,500 solar powered lanterns to help those whose homes have been damaged and those without power, she noted
The UK is working with the World Food Programme and Red Cross to ensure emergency relief reaches those who need it most.
UK humanitarian and technical experts have been deployed to the region to assist with the coordination and delivery of aid. The UK Government had already prepositioned emergency supplies in Antigua & Barbuda to ensure they could be rapidly deployed to where they are needed most.
Some of the funding will be used to match public donations up to آ£1 million to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies appeal in support of Jamaica.
Hurricane Melissa, one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes ever, caused devastation in the Caribbean.
The storm made landfall in Jamaica on Tuesday with wind speeds of 185mph, making it the worst storm to hit the Caribbean country since records began some 174 years ago.
The Red Cross said early indications show Hurricane Melissa has been a "disaster of unprecedented catastrophe". (end)
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