HMS Trent reached storm‑hit Falmouth, Jamaica, on 4 November with a 75‑strong Royal Navy crew to back local recovery after Hurricane Melissa. The ship’s team is working with Jamaican authorities on rapid damage assessments and emergency repairs to get essential services moving again.

The UK says specialist engineers will deploy ashore with drones for aerial surveys, and rigid inflatable boats and quad bikes to move people and kit. A broader package has already sent more than 3,000 shelter kits and 1,500 solar‑powered lanterns, alongside a Foreign Office rapid deployment team and £7.5 million for the region.

PAHO/WHO reports Melissa made landfall at around midday on 28 October near New Hope in Westmoreland, with severe impacts across Jamaica’s south and west. As of 3 November, 32 deaths were confirmed. The UN’s CERF has allocated US$4 million, and assessments now include WASH and structural checks at Falmouth Hospital.

Local capacity remains under pressure. Ahead of landfall Jamaica prepared more than 650 shelters; the day after, over 25,000 people were sheltering and power cuts hit much of the island, with outages peaking near three‑quarters of customers. That scale shapes what incoming teams like HMS Trent must prioritise.

The Royal Navy keeps a hurricane‑season presence in the Caribbean to support disaster relief alongside other duties. Ministers John Healey and Chris Elmore said British personnel would lend engineering expertise to restore infrastructure and support those most affected.

This is a climate story as well as a humanitarian one. The IPCC finds that tropical cyclone rain rates are set to rise and the share of Category 4–5 storms is likely to increase as the planet warms; NOAA researchers also project more rapid intensification events.

Jamaica has invested in risk reduction that works. The World Bank says coastal defences at Annotto Bay and a new seawall on Port Royal Street in Kingston held during recent severe storms, while drainage upgrades in hotspots have reduced flood risk. Its programme has already benefited roughly 1.6 million people.

Getting light and shelter right buys time for communities. NGOs such as ShelterBox and Oxfam show that solar lanterns cut fire risk and improve night‑time safety in clinics and shelters, while shelter kits enable safe, quick roof and wall repairs until full reconstruction is possible.

Jamaica is leading its own response. The National Emergency Operations Centre remains at Level 3 activation, and the Government ordered mandatory evacuations for high‑risk coastal and flood‑plain communities ahead of impact. International assets, including the Royal Navy, are slotting into those national plans.

Over the next 90 days, the most useful support will be practical and locally owned: restore clean water and electricity, reopen health facilities and schools, and accelerate home retrofits with hurricane straps and better roofing. As engineers map damage and reopen roads, the test is whether each fix lowers future risk as well as today’s hardship.