TL;DR
- David Rowe, a British tourist, criticises the UK government’s late response to Hurricane Melissa, stating it left many stranded.
- With 8,000 British nationals still in Jamaica, Rowe calls for better crisis management and timely travel advice from the FCDO.
Hurricane Melissa live: Jamaica declared disaster area after ‘storm of the century’ hits – as video shows destruction | World News
One British man who paid £3,500 for last-minute flights so he and his family could return home before the hurricane hit the island said that he felt “completely let down” by the government’s response.
David Rowe and his family, from Hertfordshire, had spent 10 days in Jamaica before deciding to fly back to the UK on Saturday.
Mr Rowe, 47, was critical of the response of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).
Speaking to the PA news agency, IT manager Mr Rowe said: “It’s all too late, their reaction and their response to the storm has been too late – after the fact.
“The advice should have been last week, like on the Saturday – don’t travel – because a lot of the travel companies use the FCDO guidance on travel (for) all their planning and what decisions they make as an organisation.
“There should have been something done much sooner than this. A lot of the UK nationals, and people on holiday there, they are stranded.
“This could have been prevented with better action from the UK government.”
Mr Rowe added that he and his wife had felt “very anxious” before they flew home – and “very sad” for those left in the country.
Up to 8,000 holidaying British citizens are believed to still be in Jamaica as it has been battered by one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes in history.
Overall, some 25,000 foreign tourists are currently in the country, according to the Jamaican tourism ministry.
Watch: ‘Windows broken, water coming in’: Jamaican-British couple share experience from inside the hurricane