At least 49 dead across the Caribbean as UK pledges extra £5m for Hurricane Melissa relief

The UK government has pledged an additional £5 million in emergency aid to support Caribbean nations devastated by Hurricane Melissa, as the death toll continues to rise and survivors struggle to access food, shelter, and power.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) confirmed on Friday that the new funding will bolster ongoing humanitarian efforts, adding to the £2.5 million package announced earlier this week. The funds will provide thousands of shelter kits, solar-powered lanterns, and critical supplies for those who have lost homes and livelihoods.

The announcement comes as harrowing scenes emerge from across the region, where the Category 5 hurricane left an unprecedented trail of destruction. Melissa slammed into Jamaica on Tuesday with winds reaching 185 mph, before sweeping through Cuba and Haiti, flattening homes, uprooting trees, and plunging millions into darkness.

In Jamaica, officials confirmed at least 19 deaths, including that of a child, with authorities warning that the number could rise sharply as rescue teams reach isolated areas. Nearly three-quarters of the island remains without electricity, while mobile networks are barely functional. More than 13,000 people are now packed into makeshift shelters, struggling to survive amid widespread shortages of food, water, and medicine.

In the coastal town of Black River, one of the hardest-hit regions in St Elizabeth parish, ITV News correspondent Robert Moore described “desperate, hungry crowds” gathering outside local shops as owners gave away whatever remained of their stock — even spoiled or waterlogged food.

“People are hungry,” said Monique Powell, who scavenged groceries and supplies for her neighbours in the nearby village of Greenfield. “Everything is gone. We’re just trying to survive.”

Roads across the parish remain clogged with mud, sand, and seawater. Crumpled cars and collapsed homes line the narrow lanes as government workers and residents clear debris in a desperate race to reach isolated communities. Helicopters have begun air-dropping food parcels into areas still cut off by flooding and landslides.

“Black River looks like a war zone,” one emergency worker told reporters. “People have lost everything — their homes, their livelihoods, and in some cases, their families.”

Across the Caribbean, the picture is equally grim.

In Cuba, where officials evacuated more than 735,000 people before the hurricane struck, no fatalities have yet been reported — a testament to the country’s extensive disaster-preparation systems. Heavy machinery is now clearing blocked highways as the military rescues residents trapped in mountainous regions at risk of landslides.

However, in Haiti, the situation is far more dire. Torrential rains triggered catastrophic flooding, killing at least 30 people and leaving another 20 missing, mostly in the southern region. More than 15,000 Haitians are still taking refuge in temporary shelters after losing their homes.

The UK’s response includes chartered evacuation flights to help British nationals leave Jamaica, alongside the humanitarian assistance package. A spokesperson for the FCDO said the aid aims to provide “life-saving support to those most in need,” adding that Britain “stands with the people of the Caribbean in this moment of immense hardship.”

As rescue and recovery operations intensify, Caribbean governments are warning that the full extent of the damage is yet to be known. With communication lines down and transport links crippled, many communities remain unreachable days after the storm passed.

“Melissa may be gone,” one Jamaican official said, “but her shadow will hang over us for a long time.”

For many, that shadow is already visible — in homes reduced to rubble, crops wiped out by floodwater, and families waiting for news of missing loved ones.

With the storm’s death toll now approaching 50 across the region and climbing, the latest UK funding may offer hope — but for thousands still without food, power, or clean water, survival remains the immediate battle.