King Charles says Hurricane Melissa damage ‘heartbreaking’

Hurricane Melissa struck Jamaica as a Category 5 storm with winds near 300km/h, before hitting Cuba and leaving 30 dead or missing in Haiti. (AP pic)
LONDON: Britain’s King Charles III said on Wednesday the destruction caused by Hurricane Melissa was a “heartbreaking” reminder of the need to restore the “balance” of nature, as the UK announced emergency funding for Caribbean islands.
In a message on social media, the king said he and his wife, Queen Camilla, were “profoundly saddened to see the catastrophic damage caused by the ferocity of Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica and across the Caribbean”.
“This most dreadful of record-breaking storms reminds us of the increasingly urgent need to restore the balance and harmony of Nature for the sake of all those whose lives and livelihoods may have been shattered by this heartbreaking disaster,” he said.
Earlier, the UK government announced £2.5 million in emergency funding for the region, after the deadly storm battered fellow Commonwealth nation Jamaica, then Cuba and Haiti.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the devastation caused by the storm “truly shocking”.
The funding will be used for supplies including shelter kits, water filters and blankets, as well as to help prevent injury and disease outbreaks, the government said.
The foreign office has set up a crisis centre to provide consular assistance to British nationals in the region, and a Royal Navy ship is at hand to provide humanitarian aid, the government said.
Melissa hit Jamaica as a Category 5 storm on Tuesday with winds of nearly 300km/h, devastating swathes of the country, before smashing into Cuba and leaving 30 people dead or missing in Haiti.