UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Sunday expressed solidarity with the people of Jamaica following the devastating impact of Hurricane Melissa, stressing the importance of international support to confront the aftermath of the large-scale disaster.

In a statement issued after a phone call with Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness, Guterres noted that the country is dealing with the effects of the category 5 storm which brought rain, storm surges and catastrophic flooding.

Guterres called for the mobilisation of massive resources to deal with the loss and damage from the hurricane.

Tom Fletcher, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, announced the allocation of US$4 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to expand emergency humanitarian operations in Jamaica. The funds will be used to deliver food, shelter, clean water and medical assistance to affected communities.

UN children’s agency, UNICEF, said on Saturday more than 700,000 children across the Caribbean had been impacted by the hurricane, which also made landfall in Cuba and caused chaos across western Haiti.

UNICEF is supporting the Jamaican Government to reach more than 284,000 children to address urgent nutrition needs, access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene including mental health support.