News story

Hurricanes Irma and Maria: government response and advice

Summarises the UK government response and the advice for British nationals affected by Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria.

• From: Foreign & Commonwealth Office, Department for International Development, Ministry of Defence and Prime Minister's Office, 10 Downing Street
• Published: 6 September 2017
• Last updated: 27 September 2017 — See all updates

This was published under the 2016 to 2019 May Conservative government

Satellite image of Hurricane Irma from the US Navy.

Government response

27 September

• Foreign Secretary chairs ministerial meeting on support to UK Overseas Territories

24 September

• International Development Secretary: extra £5 million UK aid to Dominica

22 September

• HMS Ocean arrives in the Caribbean
• RFA Mounts Bay assists family in search and rescue mission

21 September

• International Development Secretary’s update on Hurricane Maria

20 September

• Sir Alan Duncan’s interview on the Today programme

18 September

• First Secretary of State’s update on government response to Hurricanes Irma and Maria
• International Development Secretary: UK ready to respond to Hurricane Maria
• Sir Alan Duncan’s post-COBR meeting statement on Hurricane Maria
• Foreign Secretary’s United Nations General Assembly meeting on Burma and also Hurricane Irma

15 September

• Overseas Territories Minister visits the Turks and Caicos Islands
• Over 60 tonnes of UK aid has now reached the Caribbean
• Public Health England experts to aid recovery on storm-hit Overseas Territories
• UK government response in numbers: 15 September

14 September

• Foreign Secretary’s press conference with Rex Tillerson
• £1.3 million raised for Hurricane Irma British Red Cross Appeal
• Bermuda’s support for the hurricane relief effort

13 September

• Foreign Secretary’s visit to the UK Overseas Territories
• Foreign Secretary to host high level talks on Hurricane Irma

12 September

• UK continues to urgently deliver vital aid
• International Development Secretary’s update on the UK response
• Sir Alan Duncan’s statement to the House of Commons
• Foreign Secretary to visit hurricane-hit islands
• UK government response in numbers: 13 September

11 September

• Foreign Secretary’s interview with media

• COBR meeting: Foreign Secretary’s statement

• Foreign Secretary’s interview on BBC Today Programme

• UK government response in numbers: 11 September

10 September

• Foreign Secretary’s post-COBR meeting statement on support for the UK Overseas Territories
• Their ordeal is not over but UK is doing everything it can to help Hurricane Irma victims: Boris Johnson’s article
• UK government actions update

9 September

• UK military provides relief to the Caribbean through Operation Ruman
• UK government matches public donations to British Red Cross Appeal

8 September

• Prime Minister’s statement following the COBR meeting
• International Development Secretary: more than 20 tonnes of UK aid on its way to the Caribbean
• Foreign Secretary’s update

7 September

• Prime Minister announces £32 million support
• International Development Secretary’s update on UK support
• Sir Alan Duncan’s statement to the House of Commons on the UK government response
• Foreign Secretary’s statement on Anguilla and the British Virgin Islands
• Prime Minister’s call with President Macron

6 September

• International Development Secretary’s statement on support from UK aid experts and British naval ship RFA Mounts Bay

Travel advice for places affected by Hurricanes Irma and Maria

Hurricanes Irma and Maria affected large parts of the Caribbean. The Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) updated travel advice to provide guidance for British nationals in the countries and overseas territories affected:

• Anguilla
• Antigua and Barbuda
• Bahamas
• British Virgin Islands
• Cuba
• Dominica
• Dominican Republic
• Guadeloupe
• Haiti
• Martinique
• Montserrat
• St Eustatius and Saba
• St Kitts and Nevis
• St Lucia
• St Maarten
• St Vincent and the Grenadines
• Turks and Caicos Islands
• USA

See also the guidance on what to do if you’re affected by a crisis overseas.

Keep up-to-date with changes to travel advice:

• subscribe to e-mail alerts for GOV.UK travel advice updates
• follow @FCOtravel on Twitter or @FCOtravel on Facebook

Overview of how the UK government has supported Anguilla after Hurricane Irma

Anguilla overview

Published 6 September 2017
Last updated 27 September 2017 + show all updates

1. 27 September 2017

   Foreign Secretary's ministerial meeting support to UK Overseas Territories added

2. 24 September 2017

   Extra UK aid to Dominica following deadly Hurricane Maria

3. 20 September 2017

   Cuba travel advice updated

4. 20 September 2017

   Sir Alan Duncan's update added

5. 19 September 2017

   travel advice for Bahamas, Dominican Republic and Haiti updated

6. 18 September 2017

   Update on Government response to Hurricane Irma and Maria added

7. 18 September 2017

   Ministerial statements on Hurricane Maria added

8. 18 September 2017

   Updated with latest travel advice in advance of Hurricane Maria

9. 15 September 2017

   Lord Ahmad's visit to Turks and Caicos, and latest numbers added

10. 15 September 2017

    UK aid update added

11. 14 September 2017

    update on Hurricane Irma British Red Cross Appeal

12. 13 September 2017

    Update on Foreign Secretary's visit added

13. 13 September 2017

    Added latest facts and figures update

14. 12 September 2017

    Added update on aid

15. 12 September 2017

    Sir Alan Duncan's Commons statement added.

16. 12 September 2017

    Added International Development Secretary's update

17. 12 September 2017

    Added Foreign Secretary's visit to hurricane hit islands.

18. 11 September 2017

    Added Foreign Secretary's interview with media and post-COBR meeting statement.

19. 11 September 2017

    Foreign Secretary's interview on BBC Radio 4 Today programme added.

20. 10 September 2017

    Added the Foreign Secretary's post-COBR meeting statement

21. 10 September 2017

    Added Foreign Secretary's article and UK government actions update

22. 9 September 2017

    New MOD story added

23. 9 September 2017

    Change to number

24. 8 September 2017

    Prime Minister's post-COBR statement added

25. 8 September 2017

    added travel advice for the Bahamas

26. 8 September 2017

    Added Foreign Secretary's latest statement

27. 7 September 2017

    Added Prime Minister's statement and International Development Secretary's update.

28. 7 September 2017

    Latest ministerial statements added

29. 6 September 2017

    First published.