To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their estimate of the number of people who remain missing in (1) the British Overseas Territories, and (2) other Commonwealth nations to which they are providing assistance, impacted by Hurricane Irma.
Answered on
29 September 2017
Despite the FCO Hotline taking more than 3500 calls since 8 September, we are relieved that the number of Hurricane-related casualties in the Overseas Territories has been low, partly due to preparedness in the Overseas Territories and a quick Government response. In addition to providing humanitarian assistance in the region, we are working closely with the Overseas Territories to support recovery and reconstruction, £62 million has been committed to date. Establishing an accurate number of those missing in affected Overseas Territories is difficult while relief and reconstruction is continuing, however we believe the number is low.
The number of missing people in the Independent Caribbean is a matter for the Governments of the countries concerned.