UK Foreign Secretary to visit Irma-battered Caribbean islands

Naval vessels with hundreds of Marines and aid packages also deployed to the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. Thousands more shelter kits and buckets are on the way from United Kingdom shortly.

The Haitian government has not confirmed any deaths after Irma skirted the island’s northern coast, but did report one person missing.

“This is not St. John anymore”. We are very thankful for the prayerful support and we shall let you know what has transpired in those other areas.

With ports mended and weather cleared, officials struggled Monday to get aid to Caribbean islands devastated by Hurricane Irma and tried to take stock of the damage caused by the Category 5 storm.

£6,500 worth of building materials and £20,000 worth of hardware have also been donated by the Gibraltarian government and businesses in the territory.

Teams from the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) began arriving in affected countries Sunday to help coordinate relief efforts among different nations and agencies.

Brushing aside critics, the Foreign Secretary said there had been an “unprecedented” relief effort from the United Kingdom and that he had “no doubt” Britain would meet the challenges ahead. The government will soon add to its initial $42 million earmark, he said.

French President Emmanuel Macron was scheduled to arrive Tuesday in St. Martin to bring aid and fend off criticism that he didn’t do enough to respond to the storm.

By now, we’ve sent 700 British military personnel to the Caribbean, including engineers, medics and other specialists.

Barbuda, which was first hit by the hurricane last Tuesday, lost approximately 95 percent of infrastructure. Homes can be rebuilt but lives can’t. The views were acquired on August 25 and September 10, before and after the storm passed. The global airport also was scheduled to resume operations Sunday. It’s now the gathering spot for locals and visitors desperate to find a way off the island.

Irma is moving north at a speed of around 12 miles per hour, with maximum sustained winds near to 120 miles per hour.

The source said: “These are British people in British territories and in times of need we will stand by them, absolutely nothing held us back in getting help to them”.

NASA science writer Kathryn Hansen believes that the eye of the storm must have literally ripped plants and trees out of the ground with its 185mph winds, as well as salt from the sea drying out leaves, turning them brown.

The release also said that the insurance companies have agreed to have a unified process for filing claims.