A UK-chartered evacuation flight carrying British nationals from storm-ravaged Jamaica is expected to land at London Gatwick on Sunday, following days of devastation
left by Hurricane Melissa.
The aircraft departed Kingston’s Norman Manley International Airport on Saturday, part of a wider £7.5m emergency assistance package deployed by the UK government. The funds include up to £1m in matched public donations for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent, to which King Charles and Queen Camilla have already contributed.
Relief operations on the island have been hampered by blocked roads and damaged infrastructure after the Category Five storm tore across Jamaica on Tuesday, killing at least 19 people and flattening entire communities. The hurricane — one of the strongest ever recorded in the Caribbean — also caused widespread destruction in Haiti, where at least 30 people died, and in Cuba.
Jamaican Information Minister Dana Morris Dixon said on Friday that some communities remained “marooned,” with entire districts appearing “flattened” by the storm. Around 8,000 British citizens were believed to be on the island when Melissa made landfall.
The UK Foreign Office has urged Britons in Jamaica to register their presence and check with airlines for any remaining commercial flight options. An initial £2.5m emergency support package was announced earlier in the week, with Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper adding an additional £5m as the scale of the disaster became clearer.
According to the British Red Cross, the royal donation will support the IFRC’s ongoing rescue operations, provision of medical care, and distribution of clean water and temporary shelter. The Red Cross estimates that 72% of Jamaica remains without electricity, while roughly 6,000 people are currently staying in emergency shelters.
With the national power grid severely damaged, generators have become essential, and tarpaulins are in high demand as thousands face a deepening housing crisis. Shortages of food, water and fuel are fuelling frustration, with reports of people entering supermarkets in search of basic supplies. Petrol queues have stretched for hours, often ending in disappointment when pumps run dry.
Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton said hospitals across several parishes had suffered “significant damage,” with Black River Hospital in St Elizabeth the worst affected. “That facility will have to be totally relocated for now,” he said, adding that trauma cases—from falls to puncture wounds—were rising sharply. Efforts are under way to secure steady fuel and water deliveries to medical centres.
Landslides, fallen power lines and debris-choked roads continue to impede aid distribution, though relief is beginning to reach some of the hardest-hit regions. On Saturday, the aid group Global Empowerment Mission dispatched a seven-truck convoy from Kingston to Black River, carrying supplies assembled by Jamaican diaspora volunteers in Florida. Additional assistance from international partners is arriving by helicopter.
Authorities acknowledge the efforts represent only a fraction of what will be required, but have insisted that more support is on the way. Photo by Uncle Leo, Wikimedia commons.