Written question asked by Baroness Brown of Silvertown (Labour) on Friday, 6 October 2017, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 10 October 2017. It was answered by Alistair Burt (Conservative) on Friday, 13 October 2017 on behalf of the Department for International Development.

Dominica: Hurricanes and Tornadoes

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what support the Government has offered to the Commonwealth of Dominica in the wake of Hurricane Maria and other recent extreme weather events.

Answer: The UK has committed £5m for critical and lifesaving humanitarian assistance to Dominica. Immediate relief efforts have focused on providing shelter, food and access to water, and the UK has used airlift capability from HMS Ocean to get essential supplies to remote villages. We have provided 3,200 tarpaulins for emergency shelter and are providing 780 shelter kits for families around the country. We have provided water purification to 5,140 households, about one quarter of the total affected, as well as funding for the Pan American Health Organisation and Red Cross. Following a World Bank needs assessment, DFID will work with key regional partners like the Caribbean Development Bank to support longer term recovery. DFID Caribbean already has programmes in place to support the construction of disaster-resilient infrastructure, including a specific project to make health facilities more resilient to hurricanes and storms.

Secondary information