The United Kingdom government on Friday, July 5, announced that it is committing £500,000 in support for Caribbean countries most affected by the destruction of Hurricane Beryl.

This was announced by the UK’s foreign secretary David Lammy.

“Our thoughts remain with those who have lost loved ones, their homes or have been left without power. This funding will help support disaster recovery efforts, as part of a swift and coordinated response in the region,” Lammy said noting that such a storm has developed so early in the season shows that we are facing a climate emergency and must act now.

The financial support will provide immediate relief to meet the needs of those whose homes and livelihoods have been impacted. Hurricane Beryl was the earliest Category 5 hurricane on record to form in the Atlantic.

The financial support includes 800 emergency shelter kits – capable of supporting up to 4,000 people.

These kits have already been dispatched to Grenada and St Vincent and the Grenadines after their islands suffered devasting 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.

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. This followed a request from the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA).

HMS Trent has arrived in the Cayman Islands, a British Overseas Territory, to provide any assistance required to communities affected by Beryl.

Two specialist FCDO Rapid Deployment Teams have also travelled to the region to provide consular assistance to any affected British nationals, along with a procurement and logistics specialist who will assist with the humanitarian effort.

The UK is committed to working with Caribbean countries to build their resilience to climate change and natural disasters.

The UK-Caribbean Infrastructure Fund has invested £350 million in climate-resilient projects across the region, including ports, roads and water systems.

The UK has already invested in building preparedness and resilience of the region. This includes supporting the development of Disaster Risk Finance strategies and investing
in insurance initiatives in the Caribbean to enables communities to recover more quickly.